LEGOs and Love
by scarlet79
Summary: John & Rodney spend a little time with Torren, and something strange happens. It seems that there may be more to the little boy than anyone realized. Get ready for a WEDDING! All *18* Chapters NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Okay, so I'm not really sure what to call this (hopefully short) story...and here's why. Originally, it was gonna be a cute little drabble-type thingy where John & Rodney spend some time with Torren. But then it turned into an actual story with a kind of plot, and now I'm getting ideas beyond where it was gonna go. That ever happened to anyone else before?_

_So, for now, it's called LEGOs and Love. Until I find a better title. If anyone wants to help name this, that'd be awesome!_

_Oh, and please R&R!_

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

By scarlet79

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><p>Teyla walked into her room and stopped short, a look of surprise on her delicate features. The three males on the floor before her didn't even glance up, they were so absorbed in what they were doing. The lights were dimmed halfway, giving the room a warm glow, and she noticed that someone had found a television set somewhere and had plugged it in over by the corner. Right now, the screen was filled with the image of a crudely drawn stick figure who was bouncing around and singing the Earth Alphabet, as the letters – each of them a different color of the rainbow – flew by the figure's head.<p>

Her son, Torren, was lying on his stomach nearest to the door, his chubby two-year-old limbs and thick, ebony curls unmistakable. She couldn't keep a smile from her lips as she realized for the first time that he was developing a cowlick, right on the top of his head. _And speaking of cowlicks_, she mused as she glanced beside her son, where John Sheppard's lanky form mimicked Torren's, his long legs sprawled out behind him as he worked. She wasn't all that surprised to see him there, as he was the one who had agreed to watch Torren. It was the man who lay similarly sprawled on Torren's other side whom she was startled to see. That man was none other than Rodney McKay, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration as his large fingers moved over his masterpiece.

In the center of the floor was the mountainous pile of LEGOs that John had bought Torren on his last trip to Earth, the brightly colored blocks intermixed with each other in a jumbled rainbow. Periodically, the three of them dug through the pile, grabbing certain pieces as they each worked on building something. The men shot remarks and jokes back and forth, while Torren happily babbled in his toddler language. Perhaps fittingly considering the state she had just found them in, John seemed to understand what the boy said, often putting in a reply to Torren's garbled comments.

"That's never gonna work, Rodney," John said, pointing at the catapult his scientist friend was building. "Too much weight at that end."

"Please, FlyBoy, don't insult me by pretending you know anything about physics. It's gonna work just fine," McKay retorted, taking the time to glance at John's castle. "Besides, that hovel isn't much better."

At the word "hovel", Torren looked up and giggled, and that was when he finally noticed his mother standing there. Momentarily abandoning his toys, he jumped up and hugged her around her legs.

"Mama!" He cried, and as she bent down to pick him up in her arms, the two men shared a shocked glance before glancing up at her.

"Hello, Torren," Teyla replied, snuggling her nose against his soft cheek. She looked back down at the pile of blocks and smiled as she asked, "What are you all doing?"

Slightly embarrassed that she had caught them playing with Torren's LEGOs, John and Rodney both blushed and quickly stood up, each trying to find somewhere to look instead of meeting her eyes.

"We...um...we were helping Torren with his blocks," John finally managed.

"Yes! Exactly!" Rodney cried, shooting John a relieved smile. John always knew how to bail them out, and once again he didn't disappoint. "Helping."

Grinning at their obvious discomfort, she made no further comment and instead turned back to her son, giving his cheek a kiss. "And were you a good boy for Uncle John?" She asked him.

"Uncle John!" Torren squealed, lifting his arms straight up in the air and grinning as wide as his little face could possibly handle.

Confused by this new gesture, she lifted an eyebrow at John, whose own grin nearly matched her son's perfectly. When he saw her bewildered expression, he explained, "He's doing the sign for a touchdown. We were watching my football tapes again, and he saw the ref doing...well, that," he chuckled as he pointed at Torren's arms, which were still held upward.

Teyla smiled and put her son back on the floor, where he again began to play with the Legos. "Well, thank you for watching him for me. Both of you," she added as she caught Rodney's eye.

"It's no problem," John told her honestly. "He's a good kid."

"Yes, he is," Rodney added, his tone surprisingly gentle. "Though I think it'll be a while before he can actually build a stable structure out of those LEGOs. All he can do now is stack them."

"He's two years old, McKay," John replied, exasperated. "Give 'em a break."

"So? I was building molecular structures out of toothpicks when I was three! He's only a few months off of that."

John decided to call him out on that. "You were _not_."

Rodney tried to bluff right back, but he was just as horrible a liar as they all thought. "Well, okay," he finally conceded, "I was six. But still..."

Teyla rolled her eyes at John, who took hold of Rodney's jacket and began to pull him toward the door.

"I'm gonna get him down to the Mess before he pops a blood vessel," John explained to her as he waved the door open. He glanced down at his favorite little boy and gave him a broad smile. "Bye, TJ!"

Seeing that John was leaving, Torren instantly got up off the floor and ran to him, plaintively crying, "Uncle John!" as he wrapped his small arms so tightly around the colonel's legs that if he'd tried to move he would have fallen.

John let got of Rodney in favor of scooping the boy up in his arms, cradling him against his chest. "Hey," he cooed to Torren, "I'll be back later. You know that."

"No!" Torren wailed, his face pressing into John's neck. "No, Uncle John!"

John's heart wrenched at the sadness he heard in the boy's voice. Kanaan had been gone for a little over a month, having tired of sharing Teyla with the team, of fearing for her life each time she left the city on this mission or that trade agreement. Though Teyla had said that their breakup was a mutual decision, John had gotten the feeling even back then that it wasn't, and that she would take it hard.

And she had. She put on a brave face for a while, but finally broke down in the Gate room just before they were about to leave on a mission, her sobs echoing dully through the space like the chime of a broken bell. Dropping his gear and gathering her into his arms before she could collapse to the floor, he'd called for a hold on the mission and spent the better part of two days with her, assuring her that he – and the rest of Atlantis – was there for her anytime she needed them. That was just over a week ago, and so far, it seemed that she was slowly, but surely, getting used to the idea of being a single mom.

However, he had no idea that Torren would react to his father leaving like this, if that was indeed what this was. He was so young, John had just assumed that eventually, he would forget the man. He should have known better, however, as the boy was half of Teyla, and while she was nowhere near as smart as Rodney, her sense of intuition could give anyone a run for their money. Hoping that Torren would forget Kanaan was probably just wishful thinking on John's part, a particularly strong bit of his mistrust and anger showing through. _And, okay, maybe a little jealousy,_ he admitted. Here, Kanaan had a great little family, two people who loved him greatly, and he had just thrown them away. Meanwhile, John, who had already tried the family route when he was much younger and had failed miserably, was helpless to stand by and watch as the two people he loved the most were forced to live alone.

He wasn't just jealous, he decided. He was mad as hell.

Shocked at her son's sudden outburst, Teyla leaned forward and rubbed gentle circles on Torren's back, then glanced up into John's eyes, her own gaze filled with something he could only identify as pain. He could understand that; Torren had all but ignored her as he ran to John. Any mother would be upset by being abandoned by her own child in favor of their uncle, and it had to sting worse when that uncle wasn't really even related.

Rodney stood at the threshold, knowing that he should covertly make his exit yet somehow unable to move. He had to admit that from the moment he had helped deliver Torren onboard the Wraith ship, the normally happy little boy had won him over. Rodney never did well with children, being unable to relate to their innocent yet constant questions and the need to touch everything they saw, but more and more over these past few years, he had found himself strangely drawn to Torren, even offering to watch him so that Teyla could spend some time alone. She had been reluctant at first, knowing that the scientist could often be clumsy and forgetful, but every time her mind was pulled back to his helping with her son's birth, and so she eventually gave in.

He, too, was upset to see how Torren clung to John so tightly, how he sobbed into the man's shirt as if he would never see him again. Not because he was jealous – his fear of messing up kept him just distant enough to be comfortable without being aloof – but because the boy had never really acted that way before. The few times Rodney had joined John in his babysitting duties, they would stay and play for a few hours, and when Teyla came back they would give Torren a hug or two and leave, easy as pie. Never had he seen Torren cry so desperately for someone other than his mother, and even that was rare.

"Um," Rodney finally said, shifting nervously from one foot to another, "you could stay, John. If you want. I mean, it's not like I don't know where the Mess Hall is."

"Or," Teyla put in, her head tilted to one side as she regarded Rodney, "you could _both_ stay, and I will have some food brought here for us."

John stared down into her eyes, silently asking her if that was really okay with her, and she smiled shyly back up at him.

"Are you sure?" Rodney asked aloud. "If it's any trouble..."

"It is no trouble," she assured him as she searched her workout bag for her radio. "Please, come back inside and sit down."

"Well, TJ," John said to the boy in his arms as he stepped back into the room, "looks like we're staying for lunch."

"Lunch?" Torren sniffled, pulling back to let his nearly black eyes peer into John's hazel ones.

He nodded as Teyla called the cafeteria and put in an order for them.

"That's right, buddy," John assured him. "Now, I gotta put you down 'cause my arms are killing me."

Bending at the waist, John carefully untangled Torren's arms from around his neck and set him down on the floor. Understanding that John wasn't leaving after all, Torren went willingly enough, releasing his death-grip on the man's neck with the shuddered sigh so typical of a toddler whose crying fit had just ended. John reached for the tower Torren had been building and grabbed it, setting it back in front of the boy. "Here," he said as he added another handful of blocks to the small pile near Torren's feet, "play with these while the grown-ups talk for a minute."

Once the toddler was again happily occupied by his toys, John moved over to where Teyla and Rodney stood. Teyla's gaze was fixed on her son, her mouth turned down in a frown of concern.

"I do not know why he suddenly acted that way," she told John. "He is normally so very content with just me here."

"Maybe he's missing his Dad," John offered, even as speaking the words pricked his heart. He had once held out hope that one day, he'd gather the courage to begin a relationship with Teyla. But then, she had come to him with the news that she was bearing a child – someone else's child, and his dream had fallen apart in his hands.

"Perhaps, but why only now, so long after he has gone?" She asked, her arms wrapping around herself protectively. John ached to reach out to her, but his fear got in the way, keeping his hands shoved deep in his pockets, and he stayed put.

"Maybe he's just tired," Rodney tried, nodding toward Torren then. The other two adults followed his gaze and just caught the tail end of a huge yawn – one that definitely belonged on someone bigger than Torren. "I know I used to get a little clingy when I was tired."

John smirked at him. "Rodney, where do you come up with this stuff? You cannot _honestly_ remember what you were like at 2! No one does."

Rodney gave him a saintly, patient look. "My mother told me, okay? You telling me your mom never cackles over stories of your childhood? Someone like you, she should have enough to last two lifetimes."

Teyla winced and bit her tongue as John's face fell and he suddenly looked away from them. She had learned of his mother's early death during one of their late-night conversations on the mainland when she had been mourning Charin. In a bid to help ease her pain, John had offered to take her there just to sit, or to talk, if she wanted to. At first, they had only sat silently, looking out at the still waters of the ocean, but as the moon rose in the sky she felt more and more drawn to speak of her close relationship with Charin, of her best memories of them together. Something about her gentle words soon broke open the defenses John usually put up in his mind, and he found himself spilling every detail about his childhood, about his mother's illness and eventual death. Teyla pretended not to see the tears that had escaped and rolled down his nose, knowing that he would be ashamed to acknowledge them, but they were there, nevertheless.

His face still turned away, he softly said, "She never even lasted _one_."

Realizing what had just happened, Rodney's eyes widened into saucers, and he subconsciously took a step back. "John, I...no one ever told me...I would never..."

"I know, Rodney," John interrupted. "It's okay."

"No," McKay replied with a shake of his head. "I mean, I know I'm not good at...people, in general, but even I wouldn't say something like that on purpose. You'd have to be some kind of an idiot to bring up..."

"McKay!" John cried, as gently as he could so as not to freak Torren out. "Just drop it, okay?"

Sufficiently chastened, Rodney nodded. "Sorry. Yeah. Okay."

Just then, Torren ran to them on his chubby legs, his hands clutching something tightly between them. "Wodney!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Wook, Wodney!"

John couldn't stifle the chuckle that escaped him at the way Torren pronounced Rodney's name, his grin only widening as the physicist glared at him in disgust.

"Wook!" Torren chirped again, pushing the object he'd been holding into Rodney's face. To his credit, Rodney merely pulled his head back a few inches so he wouldn't get clobbered by Torren's waving fists, his face holding none of the usual irritation he had when dealing with kids.

"I'm looking, Torren," Rodney said to the boy, holding his hand out for the object Torren had been trying to show him. "What is it?"

Torren babbled what sounded like a mixture of English and Athosian words all strung together, and then proudly dumped his treasure into Rodney's hand.

"Wodney," Torren said again, beaming up first at the scientist, then at his mother, and finally at John.

Curious, Rodney looked down at his hand, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Huh!" he said as he turned the object first one way, and then the other. He was so intrigued by it that without even realizing it, his knees bent further and further until he was sitting on the couch.

John stepped forward and likewise stared down. "It's your catapult," he said, shrugging as he wondered what Torren – and now Rodney – found so special about it.

"No. My catapult is over there," Rodney breathed, tilting his head toward the pile of blocks. "I...I didn't build this."

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!_

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

By scarlet79

Chapter 2

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><p>Still puzzled, John looked over to where Rodney had indicated, and immediately saw the catapult he had been working on when Teyla had come home. It was made up mostly of yellow blocks, which John found ironic since the color reminded him of lemons – a fruit that Rodney was highly allergic to – and was more carefully crafted than the one currently resting on his palm, which was completely blue. The dimensions on this one were way off; the sides of the catapult extended beyond the small green platform it was built upon, and the bowl of the catapult itself was only half-built, its shape like a squared-off crescent moon. But other than those few details, it looked disturbingly close to Rodney's design.<p>

Sharing a wary look with Teyla, whose mouth was open slightly as if she wanted to say something but suddenly couldn't find the words, John looked down at her son. Torren was still just standing there, his huge dark eyes staring patiently at Rodney as if he were awaiting his reaction.

"Torren," Rodney finally managed to murmur, his eyes still glued to the catapult, "did you make this?"

Torren giggled in reply and then ran back to the pile of LEGOs. Dropping to his knees, the toddler grabbed handfuls of the small blocks and tossed them in the air, sending them skittering all over across the floor. _Well_, John thought, _whatever was going on must be over_. Torren was once again back to his normal, two-year-old self.

"I do not understand," Teyla spoke at last, for once ignoring the mess her son was making. "He is only a toddler. How was he able to copy your design so well, Rodney?"

"I have no idea," Rodney replied. "Has he ever done anything like this before?"

John realized that they were both looking at him, and he frowned. "Why're you looking at me?"

Rodney huffed as if John were being intentionally obtuse. "Because you've been spending a lot of time with him lately."

"No more than usual," John muttered, though Rodney was right. Since Kanaan had gone, John had felt as if he had a responsibility to both Torren and to Teyla, and so had found any excuse to be around them. "And to answer your question, not that I know of."

"I also have never seen Torren do anything like this," Teyla put in, her eyes still full of confusion. "What should we do?"

"Well for one thing, I wouldn't worry," Rodney told her. "It might just be a fluke, a weird coincidence."

"And if it isn't?" She asked, unable to keep the panicked edge out of her voice. One moment, her son had been just like every other Athosian child – one that was born with the Gift, anyway – playing and making a mess everywhere he went. And now he was...well, what was he? She didn't know, and that scared her more than if she'd been told that he was half Wraith.

As dense as he could be, even Rodney could tell that he wasn't helping matters any. Oh, he really sucked at social skills. He'd much rather be hunched over a laptop in his lab, solving theoretical physics, than dealing with this right now. He looked to John for help, and again the colonel came to the rescue.

Stepping forward, John took hold of her shoulders from behind, his hands slowly sliding down her arms to gently wrap around each of her biceps. "Teyla," he said, his voice as quiet, as serene as she had ever heard him, "calm down. I know you're scared, but freaking out isn't gonna help anything."

"I...I do not understand," she said again, and John carefully turned her around until she was facing him.

"Me either, but we'll figure it out. There's one thing I _do_ know, though," he replied as he peered down into her eyes. "This _can't_ be a bad thing. I mean, the worst that could happen is he'll be as smart as Rodney, and it'll cost a fortune to send him to college."

"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed from where he sat. "The worst? Really?"

"Point is," John continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Nothing has changed, really. I'll have Keller run a few tests, just to be sure, but the important thing is to stay calm. Kids pick up on your moods and stuff, so if you act like something's going on then Torren will feel it, too."

Finally, she nodded in understanding. "All right."

"Okay," he nodded in return, though his hands stayed where they were until she turned to watch Torren. Then, he stuffed them back into his pockets, using their depths to stifle his palms' desire to touch her soft, bare skin once more.

"I'm gonna get this down to my lab," Rodney said as he stood up, carefully balancing the awkwardly-built device in the middle of his palm. "You know, keep it safe and...stuff," he finished lamely.

"Very well," Teyla replied.

"You'll, uh, let me know if he does anything other super-cool stuff. Right?"

John rolled his eyes. "What, like if he suddenly starts flying around?"

Rodney was about to nod but then realized John was being sarcastic, and he scowled instead. "Oh. Ha. I actually meant like, if he started building a thousandth-scale model of Atlantis out of these. But flying would be cool, yes."

"I will inform you of any new developments," Teyla assured him.

"Good. Well, I hate to skip lunch..."

"Not surprising," John quipped, ignoring the look Rodney shot him.

"...but I've got some stuff to do. So, I'll see you for dinner?"

She nodded, and Rodney reluctantly leaned down to rub a hand through Torren's curls before leaving for his lab.

As soon as the doors hissed shut, Teyla sagged back against the wall, her head tipped up so that she was staring at the ceiling. John watched her silently, knowing that she was feeling overwhelmed and thinking about Kanaan again. He wanted to say a million things to her, but he knew that none of them would help. Torren still played at his feet, blowing raspberries as he laid siege to John's castle with handfuls of loose blocks, then squealing with delight as one of the turrets collapsed.

"Teyla," John said then, carefully avoiding the chaos unleashed upon the floor around him to take a step toward her. She blew out a breath and lowered her gaze to him as his hands naturally found their place on her arms. As he drew her away from the wall and folded her against his chest, he murmured, "It's gonna be okay."

"I know," she replied, her hands sliding around him to clasp behind his back. "It's just..." she paused to collect her thoughts into some semblance of coherency. "We have been through so much recently. I am still very unused to tending to Torren on my own, and he has unfortunately reached the stage where he tests his limits continually..."

"Terrible twos," John chuckled, and she nodded.

"Yes, those. When he ran to you instead of me, it made me feel...unneeded. And now with this..." she swept her hand toward the pile of LEGOs "...I feel even more lost. I'm not sure just where I belong, anymore."

That last statement drove a shard of ice into John's heart, and he hugged her closer, closing his eyes to try and ease the sting. He knew where he wanted her – beside him, both on his team and personally, forever. But he was almost completely sure that would never happen. They were friends, teammates, but that was all. She probably saw him as her big brother, not as a potential mate, and that thought sent a wave of pain through his gut as bad as if he'd been kicked. It was made worse by the knowledge that the way she saw him was all his own doing. He had remained silent about his feelings for too long, and as the years passed, any ideas she may have entertained about him had slowly dwindled away, disappearing completely when she met Kanaan.

But now Kanaan was gone, too. He remembered how hard it had been for him to move on after Nancy left, and figured that it would be ten times harder for Teyla. While Nancy and John had never had children – it was one of the myriad of issues that had driven them apart – Teyla had a son to think of. She might never find someone else who she could trust, someone who would accept Torren as his own, and that upset John. He wasn't stupid enough to think that she would choose him, though if she did he would try a hundred times harder than he had with Nancy to be everything a woman needed, but Teyla definitely deserved to be happy. He was sure there was at least one guy out there who would treat her like the queen John knew she was, and if there wasn't, well then he would make sure that he was the one friend she could count on for anything. After everything they'd been through, it was the least he could do.

"You belong right here," he told her, his lips moving against her hair, "with your son and with all of us."

He felt her choke back a sob rather than hear it. "I do not understand why he left us," she said into his shirt, her tears dampening the black fabric. "It was he who told me to follow my heart, to stay on the team and fight the Wraith. I was ready to give up my place with you to be with my family, but he would not let me!"

"I guess he thought he could handle being put in second place to your job. But that's always easier said than done. Life doesn't always play fair, especially out here in the Pegasus."

She nodded against him, in too much emotional pain to speak any longer.

"But," he said then, lifting her face with a finger under her chin so she would look at him. "Torren is still here. No matter what happens, you're his mother and he'll love you forever. And Atlantis has been your home all these years, and she'll stay that way for as long as you want."

She blinked her dark eyes slowly, clearing the sheen of tears away from them. "I could never imagine leaving here. You have all been so good to me, to us; you have taken us in and treated us as your family. I could never bear to take Torren away from that, not even to live among our people, with his blood relatives."

"I'm glad of that, 'cause I'd really miss the little guy," he said. After a pause, during which she lifted a worried eyebrow at him, he grinned and added, "And you, too. Of course."

She finally managed a grin in return, and pressed herself back against his chest. "Good, because I would miss you, too."

The door chimed then, and John looked down and asked, "So, you gonna be okay for a while? 'Cause as much as I'd love to stand here with you, I'm starving."

Teyla smiled up at him. "I will be fine. You go sit down, and I will get the food for us."

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation as she went to answer the door, he nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good."

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: The suspense is building...I **know** you can all feel it! So, I've decided to ease it somewhat, but be warned...this chapter ends with a slight (okay, a HUGE) cliffhanger! As always, enjoy and R&R! Seriously, all the reviews I've gotten so far have me sitting here with a giant grin plastered on my face! I love them, & thank you SO much!_

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

By scarlet79

Chapter 3

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><p>Pulling the stethoscope out of her ears and hanging it around her neck, Jennifer Keller crooked her finger and tickled Torren's stomach, making him giggle and squirm around on the treatment bed.<p>

"He seems perfectly normal," she told John and Teyla, who stood on either side of the boy. John looked relieved, his features relaxing into the more familiar half-smile he wore when he was his normal self, but Teyla's eyebrows were still knitted in a frown. Jennifer had to admit, she was still puzzled by their sudden request for this checkup. She could understand it if he had fallen or started acting ill, but neither of those things had happened. John had explained the incident with the catapult, and while she agreed that it was unusual, it was far from impossible. She had read of many kids who developed certain skills at a remarkable rate, while she was still in medical school. Maybe Torren was just like them.

"What about the blood tests?" Teyla asked her then. "Have they come back yet?"

"Not yet," Keller said with a shake of her head. "But as soon as they do, I will let you know right away."

As Teyla and John shared a look that bordered on full-out worry, which Jennifer personally found both cute and a little strange, she sighed and said, "I have to tell you, I'm confused by all of this. We ran plenty of tests back when he was born, and everything was fine then. I can't see how that would suddenly change. I understand that his building such a difficult structure nearly perfectly is a little...odd, but it's not unheard of."

John nodded at her, barely glancing down as his hand shot out to keep the curious toddler from falling off the end of the table. After three more similar incidents, he grew tired of having to split his attention and decided to scoop Torren up in his arms. The boy immediately wrapped his little arms around him, resting his dark head in the crook of John's neck and blinking tiredly.

"I know that," John replied, his hand absently patting Torren's back. "But we just wanna rule out the possibility that there's something in his physical make-up that would cause this."

Keller smiled as she watched Torren quickly drift off to sleep, draped comfortably over his favorite uncle's shoulder. "Well, there's nothing that I can see. He's still a perfect example of a two-year-old boy. One that has just fallen fast asleep, I might add."

John was about to reply when Rodney's voice came over the radio in his ear.

"Sheppard, this is McKay."

Giving a less-than-patient sigh, John replied, "I'm here, Rodney. What'd you need?"

"I think I may have figured out what happened. Is Teyla there with you? She should hear this, too."

A loud beep sounded from somewhere over by the infirmary's bank of computers. Jennifer silently informed him that those were the test results, and that she was going to check them out. He nodded at her, then gestured for Teyla to switch on her radio so she could join in the conversation. When Teyla nodded back, John said, "She's here. Now, you feel like sharing with the class?"

Though he couldn't see Rodney's face, by the way he huffed John could tell that he was rolling his eyes. "Sure," he tetchily replied. "I decided to go through the information we took from Michael's lab..."

"The one that fell in on us and almost killed us?"

Teyla shot John a warning look as another sigh came over the radio. "Yes, _that_ one. Anyway, he mentions Torren briefly in there – not by name, mind you, as he didn't, well, have one yet..."

"Speed it up, McKay!" John cried impatiently. He knew that the physicist had the tendency to be over-explanatory, but he really wasn't in the mood to take the long route today. Though he still believed that Torren was fine, that there was no illness that would cause him to suddenly become a genius, the knowledge that they had obviously missed something this whole time drove him crazy. It made him wonder how many other things they had missed, and if they would somehow come back to bite them in the metaphorical – or even literal – ass.

"Sorry. Anyway, it seems that while he was performing 'tests' on Teyla and her...Torren, what he was actually doing was manipulating Torren's DNA – in minute amounts, mind you. Kanaan is definitely his father – he states that quite plainly, Teyla, so don't worry about that. But before Michael took off from Atlantis, he ended up grabbing someone else's blood samples, and used those to come up with a serum that he introduced to Torren while he was still in the womb."

Though Teyla's eyebrows shot up, she said nothing. She had always known that Michael had been up to something more than what he'd told her. Still, playing with her son's DNA went a little farther than she'd ever dreamed, and it made her even more glad that she had been the one to send Michael to his death on the rocks below Atlantis. Killing someone in cold blood had never been her way, but when it came to protecting her son, she had not given it a second thought.

John, however, was full of questions. Shifting Torren's sleeping form from one shoulder to the other, he began to ask them. "So what are you saying? That Torren has DNA in him from Teyla, from his father, _and_ from someone here, in Atlantis?"

"Um, well, in its most simplified form, yes."

"How is that possible? From what I remember in Biology, you get half of your genes from your father and half from your mother. As much fun as it might be for some, a third person would make that whole process really...awkward."

"You're right, and that's still essentially the case with Torren. But Michael made his own twisted kind of gene therapy, and by creating a special retrovirus as a vector, he was able to insert that third person's DNA into the genes Torren received from his dad, swapping some of the unnecessary ones out with the ones he thought would be to his own best advantage. Thus, Torren not only has all the cool, Wraith-sensing genes that Teyla and Kanaan do, but also has someone's even cooler ATA gene as well."

A strange, tingling sensation ran over John's body then, as if the floor beneath his feet had suddenly dropped out, and he shared another nervous glance with Teyla.

"Rodney," he began, "do you know whose it was?"

"Huh? Oh, no. That part of the data was unfortunately too damaged to retrieve from the hard drives."

"I do," Keller said then, a tablet computer tucked into the crook of her arm. Her face was pale, and her eyes wide. As she reached where they stood, she thrust the tablet into Teyla's hands, then collapsed into a nearby chair, too shocked to explain any further. Not that she could have explained if she had wanted to. As she'd told them before, she had run extensive blood tests on both Teyla and Torren after their rescue and had never seen this. To be honest, however, she hadn't been all that focused on the specific DNA sequences, only looking for any severe abnormalities. Unless someone was definitely searching for this exact thing, it would have most likely gone unnoticed for Torren's entire life.

Still, the sudden change from her usual professional demeanor only served to make John more nervous.

"Teyla?" John asked, the tingling now a full-out thumping that echoed throughout his whole body. "Whose is it?"

She stared down at the screen for a long moment, her eyes comprehending the words but her lips unable to repeat them. Finally, she found the control necessary, and looked up into John's distressed gaze.

Her voice was unnaturally loud in his pounding ears as she said, "Yours. They are your genes, John."

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: I know I'm updating really really fast, but this story has just seemed to take over. It probably doesn't help that I'm listening to the type of songs that fuel my angsty writing. (Like "Broken" by Lifehouse & "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne) LOL Oh well. What's better on a Sunday night than SGA fanfic? Nothing, that's what! _

_Anywho, enjoy, and try not to throttle me after this chapter. It'll get better, I swear!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

By scarlet79

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>John couldn't help but think that maybe he was dreaming, or that this whole thing was a joke someone was playing on him. <em>That had to be it<em>, he thought. Someone – maybe Rodney – was playing a trick on him, and he was falling for it. In any case, this wasn't really happening, he decided. It just couldn't be real.

"That's...are you sure?" he asked Teyla, who nodded slowly, as if she were just then realizing what she had said.

As he carefully sank into a chair to ease the ache of holding Torren's dead weight without waking him, she glanced down at the tablet again and replied, "I am sure."

"Well, that makes sense," Rodney said then, and John jumped. He'd forgotten that his radio was on. While John's heart attempted to slow down to a more reasonable rate, Rodney continued, "You have the strongest instance of the ATA gene ever known – more so than even General O'Neill. It's only logical that if Michael wanted Torren to have it as well, that he'd take it from the best possible source."

"I am still a little confused," Teyla admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. "What does all this mean for Torren?"

"Not too much, so far. He's still the same kid he always was, only now we know he has John's ATA gene, and as much as I hate to admit it, whatever other genes he got from the colonel are probably the ones that relate to his increased brain activity, cognative reasoning and such."

John rolled his eyes. "Rodney, we're not scientists. Bottom line it, please."

"He's a smart kid, okay?" Rodney grouched, perturbed that he was being forced to admit something that was fairly close to his worst nightmare. It was bad enough having to tell someone like Zelenka that he was brilliant, and worse to say the same to John. But a kid? One who couldn't even speak in full sentences yet? That was pain at a level he had never before experienced.

"Probably nowhere near as brilliant as I am," he continued, "but still way above an average toddler. It's why he was able to imitate my catapult, even though right now kids his age are still smearing finger paint all over themselves. "

"But after you asked him if he'd made that thing, he threw the LEGOs all over the place," John reminded him, drawing a nod from Teyla. She would no doubt be the one to clean that whole mess up, and she was not looking forward to it. Nor was she eagerly awaiting the possibility of stepping on a missed block when she got up in the middle of the night.

"Yes," Rodney acknowledged, "but only because the rest of his brain hasn't quite caught up. Look, I'm coming down to you right now. I know it's a little late for this, but I'm not really sure we should be talking about this over the radio, and I just thought of something else."

John had to admit that he had a point, on both accounts. It was potentially dangerous to discuss such information over something as easily accessible as the radio, but they had been talking for the better part of ten minutes. If anyone had been listening in, they had surely gained all the information they needed by now.

"Great."

As soon as John shut off his radio, Rodney jogged through the doors of the infirmary, his mouth already picking up where he'd left off.

"I'm sure that if you catch him at the right time and put him under the scanner, certain parts of his brain would light up like a Christmas tree, while others would stay the same. As he grows older that will all change. More and more areas will become active, but it'll balance out because they probably won't stay 'lit' for as long. The problem, the one I told you I just thought about on the way down here, comes with those in-between times, when his genes turn those areas on for the very first time."

"What do you mean?" Teyla asked him, her mind still trying to grasp exactly what he was saying. She was baffled by his explanations on any normal day, but now not only was he giving her tons of information to process, he was firing them off at a rate that only John could possibly comprehend. And from the frown that creased his forehead, she guessed that he was having trouble, too.

"Think of it like a light switch," Rodney explained, grabbing a chair from the computer area and setting it in front of where she stood, then dropping into it. "Torren's brain is the light, and the gene is the switch."

She nodded, with him so far.

"Okay. So, if there's too much power – too much information going to the light, and you flick the switch on, what happens?"

"The light explodes," John replied most unhelpfully from his seat. Teyla looked from him to Rodney with a horrified expression on her face, and the scientist folded his arms and uttered another of his martyr's sighs.

"That is sometimes true, but I was going somewhere a little less dramatic, _thank_ you." Now, his hands joined the discussion, making small gestures here and there as he spoke. "If you have the wrong wattage in the light socket, the bulb will glow extra bright for a minute, maybe even a few minutes, and then black out again. It's not a perfect illustration, but that's loosely –" he glared again at John to stop him from making any comments "– what's going on with Torren. As each new area is accessed, the activity in his brain ramps up a level, but since he isn't old enough to fully process the information, it eventually fades back down to normal."

"With my ATA gene, though," John added, finally grasping the full scenario Rodney was trying to lay out for them, "he'll be able to access Ancient technology, but with no understanding of what he's doing..."

"He could get into a whole mess of trouble if someone ever takes their eyes off of him," Rodney finished for him.

"Is there any way to slow it down again?" Teyla asked then, sending John an apologetic look. She didn't hate the fact that it was John's DNA that had been merged with Kanaan's – in fact, if she'd had to choose she would have picked him, over everyone she knew – but Michael's interference had caused a potential problem, not only for her son but for the entire city of Atlantis. There was no telling what kind of things a two-year-old like Torren could get into when their backs were turned, and she would rather not find out the hard way what those things were.

"Maybe," Rodney considered with a frown. "But it would mean a whole lot of research for me, and even more tests for Torren. And there's still no guarantee that even with all that, we'd be able to find a solution. We might just end up putting him through a lot of unnecessary procedures."

"Not an option," John spoke up at last, his hand splayed across Torren's back as if to protect him. As everyone's head turned toward him, he grinned, falling back on his usual tactic of glass-half-full-type reasoning. "Come on, guys. He's only two! It's not like he's gonna be wandering around the city unsupervised. Someone's always with him. How much could he possibly get into?"

Rodney gave him a look and scoffed. "He's got your genes, Sheppard. Do you really need to ask that?"

"If there is any way of helping him to become a normal child, I will take it, as long as it does not cause much pain," Teyla informed them, with a final nod.

John suddenly hopped out of his chair, his cheeks flushed red. "Now, wait a minute! Rodney just said there was no guarantee for a permanent solution. I don't think we need to put a little boy like him through so much, at least not before we can be sure it'll work."

"The decision is not up to you, John," she replied, her eyes flashing, daring him to argue further. "He is my son, and as his mother I have the right to do what I feel is best for him."

"You're right. You _are_ his mother. But he shares part of my DNA, too, and that has to count for something. Now, I won't pretend to be his father..."

"Then stop, right now!" she cried, her hand lifted up, palm out toward him. When his mouth shut with a snap she dropped her hand, though her voice remained louder than usual. "Would you still be against this if you had discovered that Torren shared DNA with someone other than you?"

"Yes, I would!" he shouted back, his hand now covering Torren's head in a futile attempt to muffle his ears against their argument. The boy had awakened a few moments before, and, sensing the tension in the air, started to whimper pitifully.

"You know what?" Rodney put in then, suddenly very weary and sorry he had ever decided to get involved in the first place. "I think I'll just go now. Jennifer, would you care to join me?" He asked, turning to the doctor, who had been sitting nearby and flinching with every word. She nodded and got up to circle around the pair, and had just reached Rodney's side when Teyla uttered a single word that stopped them both in their tracks.

"Why?"

The doctors' heads swiveled to John, waiting. Rodney couldn't help but think of a tennis match. _A horrible, nightmarish tennis match that would most likely end in bloodshed_, his pessimistic mind shrieked, but still the resemblance stuck with him.

"Because he's just a little boy, Teyla!" John cried. "You of all people should be the _last_ one to ask that!"

She tossed her head defiantly, angrily. "I do not believe you. Now, tell the truth. Why are you against changing him back to normal?"

John's eyes widened. "Normal? What the hell do you know about 'normal'? You can sense the Wraith from miles away. I wouldn't exactly call _that_ normal."

"Answer the question, John!" Teyla shouted as Torren began to wail at full volume.

He was so angry, the words just spilled out before he could stop them. Over Torren's cries, he bellowed, "Because I love him and I don't wanna see him hurt!"

As the realization of what he'd said hit the others, he drew in a breath and blew it out again, seeming just then to hear Torren. He shushed him gently, and the toddler laid his head back down on his shoulder, wiping his nose on his shirt. John instantly switched back to his angry voice as he scowled at Teyla. "And, as his mother, I can't believe you'd be okay with putting him through all of that, especially after seeing how so many of our 'experiments' have gone."

Jennifer and Rodney stared at each other then, silently communicating with their eyes. They had both had an inkling that John had felt more than a normal bond with the newest member of their expedition, but this? This went way beyond what either of them had imagined.

"We're gonna go," Rodney tried again, this time grabbing Jennifer's hand and tugging her toward the door. John turned to watch them leave, but kept silent.

"That is not what I said," Teyla replied at last, her arms reaching for her son. John handed him over, a little disappointed when Torren didn't even resist, instead cuddling tightly against her chest.

He shook his head. "It absolutely is, and there used to be a time when you respected my opinion."

"As I still do."

"It doesn't sound like it to me," he said. Running his hand through his hair, he was startled and frustrated to discover that his limbs were shaking, as the burst of adrenaline they'd received slowly wore off.

"John," she called softly, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. He purposely took a step back, still too angry with her to let her touch him.

"I gotta go. Just..." he looked wistfully at Torren's back, curled in a half-circle as he clung to his mother, and then his eyebrows dipped into a frown as he said, "Just do what you want. I'll see you later."

Before she could utter a word to stop him, he shoved through the swinging doors of the infirmary, leaving her alone with her son.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Ah, finally, our next installment is here! YAY! You may all have to be satisfied with just this chapter for a few days, unfortunately. My sis-in-law's bachelor party is tomorrow, and I'm not sure how much time I'm gonna have over the weekend to get another chapter done. But I'll try my hardest to bang it out, I promise!_

_As always, please read & review! :-)_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 5

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><p>A loud thwack sounded through the gym, followed closely by a curse.<p>

Ronon grinned as John rubbed his throbbing arm. The skin there was red, and he knew that tomorrow there would be a wicked bruise. "Never thought you could actually suck worse than you already did."

"Bite me," John growled, picking up the Bantos rod that had been knocked from his grasp and twirling it in his hand like a baton. "That was a lucky shot."

"Uh huh," his Satedan friend replied sarcastically.

They took their positions again, each carefully watching the other for the twitch that would signal the beginning of an attack. For an entire thirty seconds, neither of them moved except to draw in a breath every so often. Then, John lunged forward, striking out with his rod as he spun to his right. Ronon, however, had anticipated his move and blocked him, then reached down to sweep John's feet out from under him. John fell to the floor with a thump, crying out as his tailbone vibrated with the impact. Ronon came to stand over him, the arms folded over his chest heaving as he sighed deeply.

"Seriously. If you're not even gonna try, then why am I here?"

John scowled up at him. "I _am _trying! It's not my fault that you're built like a Sasquatch."

Ronon rolled his eyes and then reached one of his hands down to John, who took it and let Ronon haul him back up onto his feet.

"We should quit for today," Ronon said, taking a step toward the barrel they stored the Bantos rods in.

"No," John replied, once more picking up his rods and resuming his defensive stance. "Keep going."

The larger man stopped and stared at the colonel. As John gasped for breath, wiping his sweat-slicked forehead on the palm of his right hand, he finally rumbled, "Sheppard, if we keep going you're either gonna pass out or suffocate to death. Just give it up for now."

"Come on! What, you afraid you're gonna lose?"

Ronon smirked. "Yeah, I'm gonna lose _you_."

John shook his head. "One more round."

His friend stood there for a while longer, silently regarding him with dark brown eyes. Then, he shrugged and moved back into striking range, lifting his rods into position. John likewise stood ready, his hazel gaze fixed on Ronon's face, his brows lowered in concentration. This time, Ronon struck first, swiping toward John's head. John ducked out of the way with time to spare and took the opportunity to strike with his off-hand, but Ronon blocked it easily. They continued to spar for the next minute or so, each carefully blocking the other's attacks while attempting their own, until the gym doors sliding open broke John's focus, and Ronon got in a hit to the backs of his knees. Uttering a yelp of pain, John crumpled onto his knees, smothering a string of foul language that, had it made it past his lips, would have shocked a sailor. When the initial pain subsided to a more manageable level, he looked up to see who had come in.

"Sorry, sir," Lieutenant Cadman said as she entered the room. "I just came for my bag. Left it in here earlier 'cause I was running late."

"That's okay," he told her as he slowly got to his feet, trying his best to hide the fact that he wanted nothing more than to just curl up in a ball and lay there. "Get what you need."

She smiled brightly at him, then winked at Ronon and crossed the room to the small seating area. Her bag was tucked under one of the chairs, its pink vinyl standing out even in the shadows, and when she drew it out he saw that it was not solid pink as he'd thought, but had little red hearts all over it. She saw the expression on his face and grimaced.

"It was a gift from my mom. They had a black one where she bought it, which I would've loved, but..." she gestured at the vibrantly-colored bag. "She still doesn't get my taste, even after all this time."

"Well, at least she thought of you," John said with a grin, and she soon broke out in a smile as well.

"Very true, sir." When she reached the door, she turned and said, "Have a good day, Colonel."

He lifted his head in a nod, and she disappeared around the corner. Ronon watched him curiously, and the way he was staring soon unnerved John.

"What?"

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" John asked with a shrug, once more reaching down for his Bantos rods.

"Stop being an idiot," Ronon admonished with a frown. "Teyla told me about Torren."

John nodded but said nothing. He knew he was wrong for blowing up at her like that, and even more wrong to interfere with her parenting of her son. But as he'd told her before, the fact that Torren had some of his DNA in him had to count for something. Or did it? John wasn't sure. He would never try to take over Kanaan's place as Torren's dad – as much as he hated the man, he was still the one who had helped create Teyla's son in the first place – but now that Kanaan had taken himself out of the picture, John felt that he had at least some say in what happened to Torren.

"You were both right and wrong at the same time," Ronon continued, breaking eye contact briefly so that he could return his sticks to their holder. "Teyla's his mom, so she gets to make the final decision. But she should at least have listened to you before making up her mind. And while you two share DNA and that and the fact that you're the military leader here means you should at least get to give your best advice, you're not his dad."

John sighed and dropped his shoulders. "It just...she said she wanted him to be 'normal'. As if having my genes made him deformed or something."

"So she hurt your feelings."

"Well, yeah."

Ronon shrugged. "So what?"

John eyed him warily. "You wanna try that one again, Buddy?"

The Satedan's mouth twitched as he hid a smile. "You heard me. So, she hurt your feelings. For a tough guy, you sure have a sensitive ego."

"Hey, it wasn't just that, okay? I get where she's coming from, but Torren being extra-smart isn't a bad thing."

"He could get into trouble," Ronon reminded him, lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe his face with it.

"Yeah, just like every other kid ever born in the history of mankind," John scoffed.

Ronon was sick of dancing around the issue. Sighing heavily, he said, "All this boils down to two things. One: she's scared, and acting out of it instead of reason. And two: when she says she wants him to be 'normal', what you hear is her rejecting the "Sheppard" part of her son."

Flopping down into a chair, John frowned. "What does she have to be scared about? The kid's just real smart – it's not like he grew an extra limb or another head or something."

"If you had a kid and they suddenly developed a skill that not even you had, wouldn't it make you feel like you were being left behind?"

"What, like if they suddenly became a superhero?"

Ronon nodded, and John gazed at the ceiling as he thought about it, then slowly nodded. "Okay, point taken. I guess I'd be pretty freaked out, especially if they had laser vision. That could be pretty bad."

"Yep."

John's frown deepened as he said, "But what about the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"You know, where I feel like she's rejecting me."

Ronon shrugged again, and John had to admit that that particular motion was starting to really irk him. "You feel that way, but she's really not."

"But she said..."

"I know what she said," Ronon snapped, frustrated. "She told me everything, remember?"

John nodded, shocked into silence by his friend's sudden change in mood.

"Like I said, she's just scared. She didn't mean that your DNA made Torren a freak – it just came out sounding that way." Ronon huffed loudly, then added, "You know, maybe if you two figured out how to talk to each other like real adults, you'd understand each other. Then I wouldn't get stuck in the middle all the time."

"I can't," John replied with a shake of his head.

"Why not?"

"Because. She always wants to talk about 'feelings'." He made a face. "I'm a guy; we don't do feelings."

"Or maybe it's because you're afraid that if you open up to her and tell her how you really feel, she'll reject you."

"There's nothing to tell."

Ronon frowned. "We both know you're lying, Sheppard. Even McKay can see how you feel. You keep lyin' and eventually, she's gonna find someone else. You really wanna go through that again?"

"McKay?" John asked after a long pause, "Really?"

His friend nodded, and John sighed dramatically.

"All right. I'll go talk to her."

"Good. 'Cause if you said no I was gonna kick your ass all over the gym again."

They both laughed aloud at that as John wearily slid out of his chair. "Thanks, but I've had enough of that to last me a month."

Ronon watched John grab his things and trot out the door, heaving in a deep sigh. He could never understand why people refused to be honest, not only with themselves, but with others as well. It only caused more problems for everyone involved.

But hopefully soon, that would all be over, at least for two of his best friends.

* * *

><p>John had just dumped his gym bag in the corner and pulled off his radio, intending on grabbing a shower, when his door chimed. Sighing, he crossed the room in three steps and opened the door, surprised to see Teyla standing there. In her hands was a small box of some kind, and as he gazed expectantly at her, she held it out to him.<p>

"May I come in?" She asked as he took the box from her. He nodded and moved to the side to make room for her to enter. As the door slid shut, he examined the object in his hands with a mixture of appreciation and curiosity. It was a rectangle, longer in length than it was in width, and the wood was painted a dark mahogany color. On the lid, the Athosian version of an elk bellowed for a mate, its furry body intricately carved into the surface of the wood.

John looked up at Teyla, who was smiling at his reaction. It was one that she had fully anticipated and took a breath before quietly beginning.

"It is a ceremonial hunting box, one that is passed down from father to son on the eve of their fifteenth birth day. It is supposed to hold a handcrafted hunting knife, but unfortunately, my father never got the chance to make the one that should have gone inside."

John lifted the lid carefully, and found that it was indeed empty.

"I was my father's only child," she continued, "but because he loved me so much he gave it to me anyway, with the instruction that I should give it to the father of my children on our binding day." He lifted an eyebrow, and she explained, "It is not unlike your 'wedding day' on Earth. I had fully intended on giving it to Kanaan, but..."

John dropped his gaze back to the small rectangle in his hands. "Teyla, you don't have to...I mean, it's beautiful and all, but I'm not..."

She stepped forward then and covered the box with her own slender hands, and he found himself staring into her dark eyes, a shy smile on her lips.

"I know that you are not truly Torren's father," she told him with a small nod, "but he has a part of you within him, and I would not change that for all the riches in the universe." John's heart started to beat hard against his ribs as she continued. "That box is more than a symbol of your shared bond. It is both a recognition of your part in our life, and an apology from me for not listening to you. You have treated Torren as if he were your own son, long before his father left us. I should have respected that closeness and consulted with you before making a decision."

John set the box aside on a nearby table and then turned back to her, his hands reaching for hers once more.

"I'm not mad at you, Teyla," he said, his hazel eyes reflecting the honesty in his voice.

"You aren't?"

"No. This all happened so suddenly – one minute we're just close friends, and the next we're close friends who both share DNA with a great little kid. A kid who also happens to be really smart for his age and can probably control Ancient technology. It's enough to drive a sane person crazy, especially that kid's mother, who just wants her boy to grow up safe and happy."

She leaned into him then, her arms wrapping around his waist. "I am so sorry, John! I did not mean what I said about him being 'normal'. He _is_ normal, with or without your genes; I just meant..."

"I know what you meant. It's okay," he assured her. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry, too. I got mad because it felt like you were rejecting my part of his DNA, which meant that you were rejecting me. And, well," he winced slightly before finishing, "Ronon tells me I've got rejection issues."

"Do you?" She asked innocently, though the slight smile on her lips told him she knew the truth well enough. As he pulled his best wounded look, she took a breath and said, "You are forgiven, as well."

"So, we're good, then?"

"Yes," she replied, lifting her head to gaze into his eyes. "I believe we are."

He gazed right back at her, hardly even blinking, and she found that she was barely breathing. "Good."

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"What does this mean for us?"

"What d'you mean?" He asked, still lost in her eyes. "What's what mean?"

"As much as it still hurts to admit it, Kanaan is gone. He told me before he left that it would be better for everyone if he did not try to stay in Torren's life, at all."

"So he just...quit being TJ's dad?"

Teyla nodded. "Yes."

John muttered something that made her blush furiously.

"And because you did contribute to his heredity..."

He tipped his head slightly to one side. "Is that what you really want, Teyla? For me to step in as his father? Because you realize that if you say yes, I'll have a bigger say in what happens to him."

She gave him another nod. "I could think of no one better to fill that role, John. He already loves you so much." She lifted her hand and pressed it lightly against his cheek. "Please, John?"

He needed no further thought on the matter. Covering her hand with his own, he said, "I'd be honored, Teyla."

As he stood there staring at her, he couldn't help thinking that the promise he'd just made needed some kind of token, some symbolic gesture to tell her he was serious. He wanted her to know that he would fulfill his job as Torren's dad to his best effort, or die trying. But he wanted to show her, rather than just tell her.

The hand covering hers slowly moved until it was cradling her cheek instead, and his other hand soon followed suit, on the other side of her face. Then, as his eyes drifted closed, he lowered his head until his lips gently pressed against hers, giving her a soft, completely chaste kiss. He wasn't even aware that he'd been holding his breath until he had pulled away again. Teyla's own eyes fluttered open then, and she gazed up at him, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something.

"Colonel Sheppard? Mr. Woolsey needs to speak with you," Chuck's voice said into John's ear then, and he blew out a sigh.

"On my way." To Teyla, he softly said, "I gotta go talk to Woolsey. I'll see you later?"

Finally finding her voice, she nodded and replied, "Yes, you will."

Once more, she found herself staring at his back as he walked away from her, but this time, her heart was filled with joy. Breaking out in a huge smile, she couldn't help pressing her lips together as she remembered the feel of John's mouth on hers, knowing that she would remember it for as long as she lived.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Okay I decided to throw this Chapter up real quick since I really had nothing to do today. Well, I DID, but I didn't feel like doing them, so...yeah. And if this snow doesn't let up around here, that bachelorette party is gonna be cancelled, so I might be able to get 7 up tonight, too. That saddens me and excites me at the same time. *sigh*_

_It's no big secret that I really, really dislike Woolsey. So if he's even more of an ass in this story than in the series, well...that's why. Heh heh!_

_So, here ya go...as I've said a million times before, please review!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 6

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><p>John loped into Woolsey's office with a grin plastered on his face, his mood better than it had ever been. He was officially Torren's dad. That thought filled him with pride, but it also scared him a little, which in turn frustrated him. He was the military commander of a huge base – one the size of an entire city. Since taking over Colonel Sumner's position, he had made more than a few life-altering decisions, and Atlantis had come out relatively unscathed in spite of them. But somehow, when he thought of being responsible for the little boy with curly, black hair and dark chocolate eyes, his heart felt like stopping in his chest.<p>

Though he'd been smiling when he entered the room, as he took in the scene before him he skidded to a stop and frowned. Woolsey sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled in front of him, his eyebrows drawn together in a rather tight expression. In the chair in front of the desk sat Rodney McKay, his blue eyes darting wildly back and forth between the leader of the expedition and his best friend. John thought he looked fairly terrified to be sitting there.

Slowly, John continued into the room, a suspicious glint in his own hazel gaze. "What's goin' on here?"

Woolsey drew in a breath. "Dr. McKay has informed me of a new development surrounding Teyla's son."

John's head snapped to the side as if he'd been slapped, and he stared down at Rodney. "Has he?" He asked flatly.

"Yes. Now, I don't need to tell you that these recent findings bring new questions to the forefront, mainly those of base security."

"Torren's not a threat," John stated, folding his arms defensively across his chest.

"How can you be so sure?" Woolsey asked, pushing the glasses that had slid down his nose back into place. "From my understanding, he has suddenly shown remarkable abilities, and though he hasn't been tested, may also be able to control Ancient technology. If he were to come into contact with any of the devices in Dr. McKay's lab, for example, he might turn them on or switch their controls without even knowing it."

Woolsey was right, and they both knew it. That fact had John suddenly feeling like he'd been backed into a corner, and he really hated that feeling. Again he looked to Rodney, who gave a slight shake of his head. John knew that gesture – it meant that Rodney had not given up the information voluntarily, but that Woolsey had somehow gotten wind of their discovery and had basically forced him to spill his guts.

This particular scenario wasn't new to any of them, especially John; when Elizabeth was in charge, she could often play hardball just as well as the man standing before him now. The difference was that back then, John could usually charm her into letting him get away with whatever she was mad about. As fun as it might be to try, John didn't think the same strategy would work with Woolsey.

"So, we'll get him tested," John finally surrendered. "And if his ATA gene is active, then I'll set up security protocols so he won't get into trouble."

Woolsey looked increasingly uncomfortable. "I'm not sure that will be enough. We can't take the risk that he may unintentionally disable some vital function of the city."

Something about the way he spoke unnerved John immensely, and he took a step forward without realizing it. "What exactly are you saying? That you wanna lock him up in a room somewhere?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"Look," John interrupted, his pointer finger dangerously close to poking the former IOA man between the eyes, "I get that everyone's worried. _I'm_ worried. But I am not going to lock a two-year-old up in some room on the off chance that he manages to somehow find himself unsupervised and touches something! And if you think your IOA buddies are gonna intimidate me into following your 'advisement'" he mimed quotes in the air, "you're sorely mistaken."

"I don't think it's necessary to let this go that far. I _do_ think, however, that I should contact General O'Neill and ask for his recommendation."

As John stood there, stunned into momentary silence, Woolsey sighed and explained, "We've never come across a situation like this before, Colonel Sheppard. And I understand that Torren is a young child, and it's quite likely that nothing terrible will happen. But I also know that the most important thing right now is the security and safety of everyone in Atlantis..."

"You think I don't agree with that?" John shouted then, making Rodney jump a mile in his seat. Woolsey had the good sense to close his mouth with an audible snap. "For the better part of six years, I've been running security here, and Genii attacks and Wraith bombings aside, I think I've done a pretty _damn_ good job! And you're right – we haven't gone through anything like this before. We've been through worse – like when Dr. Weir and I were overtaken by aliens and forced to play Mr. & Mrs. Smith, or when I was infected with Iratus DNA. Both times, this base was compromised, and people were hurt."

Before Woolsey could interject, John rushed onward, "And I know that Elizabeth caught hell each time. But I know the General pretty well, as you should, and I am certain that he would never give you permission to hide Torren away as if he were some kind of...of circus freak."

Rodney smirked at that. Truthfully, he really didn't even want to be here. When Woolsey had called him for this meeting, he'd been busy trying to find a way to keep Torren's ATA gene intact while making it turn dormant again, at least until he was old enough to control it better. He was so close to a solution, but now here he sat, watching the two leaders struggle for dominance like two wolves fighting for the alpha role. It was tiring for him, and yet as he saw that John was winning, it was oddly satisfying.

"He's not a freak," Woolsey agreed, "And I understand your concerns over his age. But we don't know that this was the only thing Michael did to him, either."

"That may be true. But here's something you don't know," John added with a smug grin. "Kanaan gave up his parental rights to Torren."

The bald man looked up in surprise. "He did?"

"He did?" Rodney said at almost the same moment.

John nodded. "Yes. And since I share DNA with Torren, Teyla has granted me those rights in his place."

Both of the other men stared at him in shock, and John felt a surge of pride at that. It wasn't often that he felt he had the upper hand, but this was one of those times, and it felt too good not to recognize it.

"Which is why," he went on, folding his arms again, "I will perform my duties as military commander of this base, as I've been trained to do, but I will _not_ let you quarantine my _son_ for _any_ amount of time."

Reaching down, John grabbed Rodney's jacket and pulled him to his feet. Rodney shot him a look of gratitude as he stood, silently telling him that he appreciated being rescued from the conversation.

As they turned to leave, Woolsey said, "I still think that we should talk to General O'Neill..."

John spun around to face him again. His voice was low as he said, "You do whatever you have to, Mr. Woolsey. But you should know by now that I will do whatever it takes to protect everyone in this city. That goes double for innocent children, and triple for an innocent kid that happens to be _mine_."

John turned and pushed Rodney through the doorway first, the force of his hand propelling the physicist almost all the way to the railing. Though he was mildly irritated at being used as a rag-doll, Rodney kept moving until they reached the main hallway, where he suddenly stopped and spun around to face John.

"Okay, am I nuts, or did I hear you say that Teyla gave you parental rights to Torren?"

John grinned. "Well, I can't say for sure if you're nuts..." he chuckled aloud at the sarcastic look Rodney shot him, "...but you heard right."

Rodney did his best deer-in-headlights impression, his blue eyes staring unblinkingly at his friend as his mouth opened and closed silently.

John rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal, Rodney. Get a grip."

"No no no; it _is_ a big deal, my friend," Rodney said, finally finding his ability to speak again. "You went from bachelor uncle to dad, all in less than a week! Anyone else would be freaking out right now – I know I would! How are you not freaking out right now? I mean you've suddenly gained the responsibility of caring for a child, Sheppard! Do you even know how _big_ a deal that is?"

"Rodney, calm down!" John cried, gripping his friend by the shoulders. When Rodney finally did calm down, his animated hands falling helplessly at his sides, John said, "I've already been caring for TJ, it's just that now, I officially have a say in what happens to him."

"So, you and Teyla are okay, then?" Rodney asked, wincing as he recalled the argument they'd had in the infirmary. "You two were pretty angry at each other."

John nodded. "We're fine. Everything's fine."

They stood in the hallway with each other for another few moments, and then Rodney looked up and grinned. "Well, then. I guess I should congratulate you on becoming a dad. So, congratulations!"

John grinned back. "Thank you, Rodney." As they continued on down the hall, toward the cafeteria, he admitted, "You know, to be perfectly honest, I don't think it's really hit me, yet."

Rodney grimaced. "Well, remind me not to be there when it does. Knowing you, it could get pretty ugly."

John stopped half-way through the doorway to the mess hall. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember when Elizabeth went...missing?" Rodney asked, cautiously choosing his words. "Everything was kind of near normal for around three days, and then you freaked out."

He nodded. He could clearly recall when Rodney found him barricaded in his office, after having gone without sleeping or eating since they'd come back from Asuras – the Replicator homeworld. He had torn apart his quarters in a fit of rage; clothes and papers had been flung everywhere, his bed flipped off of its frame and the window broken, the curtain only hanging halfway on and fluttering in the ocean breeze. But this was different, he told himself.

_Wasn't it?_

"Okay, I get it. If I start feeling that way again, I'll try to warn everyone," he finally agreed. He peered around the door and spotted Teyla and Ronon already at their table, Teyla bouncing Torren up and down on her knees to calm his fussing. When she saw John watching her, she smiled and nodded at him, and he smiled back and dragged Rodney into the room.

"Come on, McKay," he said as Rodney made sputtering noises from beside him, "let's go eat!"

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: YAY Chapter 7 is here! BTW...The party last night was AWESOME - went to Dave & Buster's (kind of like Chuck E Cheese for grown-ups), then went back to the maid-of-honor's place for pizza and movies. So much fun...I ended up getting home at 2 a.m. - haven't done that since I was a teenager! LOL_

_So, Ronon gets to do a little more "counseling" in this chapter. For a "caveman" he sure is perceptive, especially when it comes to women! LOL Anyway, enjoy and R&R! :)_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 7

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><p>Rodney's lab was crowded, and he hated it.<p>

There were so many sensitive devices in the room, and with John's almost child-like sense of curiosity and Ronon's huge form, Rodney feared that something was going to either get broken, or at least severely damaged.

Zelenka was hovering quietly nearby, wringing his hands nervously, while Ronon leaned against an empty wall, twirling his blaster on one finger. Rodney himself stood in front of a long counter, tapping at his computer every few seconds. Sitting on top of the counter and happily playing with a set of plastic keys and a toy cell phone was Torren, and John and Teyla had taken up flanking positions around Rodney. John's hand was inconspicuously wrapped around Torren's middle, keeping the boy safe from tipping forward off the counter.

Torren held the phone out to his mother. "Momma talk."

Smiling, Teyla took the toy from him and put it to her ear. "Hello? Oh, I am fine, thank you." She looked at John, who grinned back at her, and then at Torren. His eyes were wide as he waited to see what she would say next.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked the non-existant caller. "You would like to speak with Torren? Of course. Please hold on for just a moment."

At the mention of his name, Torren giggled, and when she handed the phone back to him, he plastered it against his ear and said, "Hello?"

"Okay, we're all set," Rodney said then, standing up straight. "Now, seeing as this is just a test and I'd rather not blow up my lab, not to mention the entire city..."

"That would make Woolsey's day," John muttered, still upset about their meeting the day before.

Rodney shot him a sympathetic glance, then continued, "I thought we'd start off with something relatively harmless." He reached down and pulled a small object out from under the counter. As he held it up to show everyone, he said, "This little thing is the Ancient version of a laser pointer. I, um, 'borrowed' it from the hologram room, and tested it on someone who doesn't have the ATA gene at all. As I expected, they couldn't get it to work. Then I tried it on myself, as I got the ATA gene unnaturally, and of course, I could turn it on just fine."

"Okay so let's go, then," John said then. "Ronon and I have gym time scheduled."

Rodney huffed. "Just...you're messing up my presentation..." he sighed and let his shoulders droop. "Fine. But for the sake of the scientific method, will you please try to turn it on, John?"

"Do I have to?"

"Well, you have the ATA gene naturally, so..."

"As evidenced by the fact that every time you need something activated, you call me..." Rodney heaved another sigh, and John nodded. "Okay, okay. Hand it over."

Now the scientist grinned widely and gave him the device. John touched a silver button on the side, and the end of the pointer lit up bright white. "See," he told Rodney, as well as everyone else in the room, "it works."

"So now you want to see if Torren can similarly turn on the device?" Teyla asked, and Rodney nodded.

"Right. If he can switch it on, then his ATA gene is active, and we can safely assume that he could activate any Ancient tech he were to come into contact with."

"And if he can, what then?"

John was the one to answer her. "Then we'll just have to be very careful for a few years, until he can learn to control when he can turn something on, and when he shouldn't."

"But will Mr. Woolsey allow him..."

"It's not up to him," John interrupted. "I'm in charge of base security. If I say the base is secure, then he has to go along with it."

She still looked unsure, so he reached across Rodney's space to briefly touch her hand.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to him, Teyla," he told her. "I promise."

Becoming increasingly uncomfortable stuck between the two of them, Rodney softly cleared his throat.

"So," he said then, "should we continue with the test?"

After giving Teyla a reassuring nod, John looked to Rodney. "Sure."

Rodney bent down slightly so that his face with level with Torren's. "Torren, could you do something for Uncle Rodney?"

Torren glanced up from his toys, a curious look in his dark eyes. "Uncle Wodney?"

"Right! Uncle Rodney. That's me." He held up the pointer, and the toddler reached for it immediately. Rodney pointed at the silver button on the side. "Could you turn this on for me? You just push that button, there."

Torren fumbled with the device for a while as he tried to figure out how to play with it as well as the phone he still held in his hands. Finally, John plucked the phone out of his grasp, and though Torren momentarily looked angry at him, he soon remembered that he still had the "toy" Uncle Rodney had given him.

Everyone held their breath as he again found the "on" button, and his tiny index finger pressed it down. The end of the pointer glowed just as brightly as when John had tried it. Five sighs were breathed within the lab, all at once.

For a while, no one spoke, as four pairs of eyes watched Teyla's face. They all knew what this meant, and while it wasn't exactly bad news, there was no telling what the higher-ups at HomeWorld Security would do with it. At first, Teyla seemed ready to cry; her eyes grew bright with unshed tears and the breath she had exhaled was shaky, but after a moment she set her jaw and even tried a smile.

"Thank you for your help, Dr. McKay," she said quietly. "If you all don't mind, it has been a long day, and Torren needs his bath."

"I'll walk you back..."

"Thank you, John," she cut him off, "but I would rather be alone for now."

"But..."

The rest of his argument died on his lips as she lifted Torren into her arms and quickly exited the room. As he stared at the doors closing behind her, Ronon came over to clap his hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be okay," he assured John. "She just needs time to think."

"Doesn't she know that this bothers me, too?" John asked no one in particular. He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the counter.

"Of _course_ she does," Rodney put in without even looking up from his computer. "But she's been through a lot these past six years or so. Torren is really her only connection to her people – he's the last of her family's bloodline – and now she's just found out that he's only partially Athosian. That's gotta be hard for her to process."

Ronon, John and Zelenka all stared at him. When he noticed the growing silence in the room, he looked up and saw them staring. "What?" He asked them, nervous.

"Nothing," John said. "That was just very...insightful. Something you're not usually great at."

"Oh, ha," Rodney snarked, though only half-heartedly. "Maybe I just understand more about people than anyone gives me credit for."

"You're right, though. For once," Ronon added.

"What is this – 'Gang up on Rodney Day'? Look, all I'm saying is, give her time to figure out what she needs to do, and she'll come talk to you when she's ready."

"We're sorry," John apologized for both himself and Ronon. "And you're right that we don't appreciate your intuition very often. So thank you, Rodney."

"You're welcome."

They all stood there in silence again, until Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed. "Thought you had gym time..."

"Oh! That's right!" John cried, then smacked the back of his hand against Ronon's shoulder. "We gonna go spar, or what?"

"Yup," his tall friend replied. "See ya, McKay."

"Uh-huh," Rodney said as he hunched even further over his computer. "Later."

"Bye, Radek," John said with a nod to acknowledge the other scientist in the room. Zelenka nodded back and lifted his hand in a wave.

"Goodbye, Colonel."

John and Ronon left the lab and headed toward the gym. Normally, they chatted about this or that as they walked, but now John was silent, his eyes cast down toward the floor as they made their way through the halls.

Ronon stopped walking, and had to yank John backward before he collided with a female gate tech. Shaken out of his preoccupation, John looked up at Ronon, who leaned back against the wall of the corridor and crossed his arms.

"You're gonna blow me off to talk to her, aren't you?" he asked John.

John looked confused. "What? No, I'm not."

"Oh. So you're gonna go spar with me, only you'll be distracted the whole time? That's not any better."

"I'll be fine. I was just thinkin'."

"I could see that. But I know you, Sheppard. You won't stop thinkin' until you go talk to her. So go talk."

"But I thought I was supposed to leave her alone, and let her come to me," John argued. "You said Rodney was right, remember?"

"He _is,_ about her feeling lost, isolated from her family. Teyla's pretty stubborn – almost as bad as you sometimes – and too proud to ask for help. And since you're too dumb to figure it out, I guess I'm gonna have to tell you: she needs your help."

He lowered his brows and glared at John. "So go."

"But...the gym..."

"The gym will still be there later. She might not be."

John thought about that, then sighed. "Okay. We gonna meet up for dinner?"

Ronon grinned. "We better."

* * *

><p>Torren was down for a nap, finally. Teyla laid on the bed beside her son with her elbow tucked under her head, watching his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks and listening to his long, soft breaths as he slept. Her heart was so filled with love for him, and yet it ached with an emptiness she couldn't describe. She had wanted badly to know for certain whether the genes he had inherited from John were active, but now that she knew she wished she didn't.<p>

With her father being taken by the Wraith years ago, she had been the last Emmagen to survive on Athos. Halling was distantly related to her, as was Charin, but neither of them carried the noble blood of her father's lineage. Torren's birth had been a double blessing to her; he was both heir to her father's bloodline, and had also inherited the Gift of Wraith-sense. He was a way for her to feel close to her people, a reminder that no matter where she was or what she did, that she was a proud Athosian.

_But now..._

Teyla turned onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Now that Torren had activated the device in Rodney's lab, she could no longer pretend that John's part in her son was a small one. She loved John greatly, and that love had grown twofold when he agreed to become Torren's father. But the fact that her son's ATA gene was so strong also meant that his Athosian genes most likely were not, and that broke her heart.

The earpiece she had placed on the bedside clicked once, and she sighed as she realized that only one person called her that way. She hooked the radio over her ear and opened her end of the connection.

"Teyla, you there?"

She smiled at her room. "Yes, John. I am here."

"Torren sleeping?"

"Yes, at last."

"Could I come in and talk to you? Please?"

Startled, she glanced at the door. "John, are you standing outside my door?"

"Yep."

"How long have you been there?"

John chuckled. "Longer than I'd care to admit. I was trying to figure out if I should ring the bell, but I didn't wanna wake TJ. Or you."

Shaking her head, Teyla slid out of her bed and opened the door, dropping her radio on the table as she went. Sure enough, John was standing in the hall in front of her, his hand reaching to switch his own earpiece off.

"I was not sleeping," she informed him as she stepped aside for him to enter.

"Oh, good," he replied as the door shut behind him.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just...well, I came down to see if you were okay."

Teyla nodded. "I am fine. It has just been a long day; I was feeling overwhelmed and needed to relax."

He watched her eyes for some time, then turned to pace in front of her. "Teyla, if I could take this all away, I would. In a heartbeat."

"Take what away?"

"This stuff with Torren. If I could, I'd go back in time and make sure Michael never put my DNA in him, especially not the ATA part. He'd be a normal Athosian kid – just yours and Kanaan's. Then Woolsey wouldn't be pushing for us to keep him under lock-and-key, and well," he sighed dejectedly, "everything would be fine again."

"But even if you did that, Kanaan still would have left."

"Yeah..."

"Which would mean that Torren would have no father at all."

"But is that really worth all this, Teyla? I can't guarantee that Woolsey's friends in the IOA won't pull any stunts, and I'm not legally his dad, anyway. If they push hard enough, they might be able to force us to bring him to Earth, to perform their own tests on him. I'll die before I let anyone hurt him, but I just don't know how far this is all gonna go!"

She watched him pacing back and forth, looking more and more like an animal in a cage. Finally, she stepped forward and took his arms, forcing them open so that she could embrace him. He folded her into his arms at once, pressing his nose against the top of her head.

"I do not take your relationship to Torren lightly, John," she murmured against his chest. "And I know that you do not, either, and that is why you are upset. But every moment that Torren has you is worth a thousand meetings with the IOA."

"I know you wanted Torren to be fully Athosian. I'm sorry he isn't."

Teyla shook her head, her hair tickling his nose. "I am not. He is still part of my people, and always will be. But through you, he is also part of your people." A thought came to her then, and she pulled back to gaze up into his hazel eyes. "And that may just prove extremely helpful to us."

John's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Woolsey's 'friends' - as you call them - they will be very interested in studying Torren's abilities. Is that correct?"

"Yes," he said slowly, still unsure of where she was going with this train of thought.

"And they are fully aware that you possess these same abilities – except for the Gift."

"Right, but..."

"So why have they not taken the time to study you, and your talents?"

"Because I'm just a human, from Earth. The ATA gene is the only thing that makes me different from anyone else."

She gave him a triumphant smile, which only confused him more. As she stepped over to the table and grabbed her radio, he said, "Teyla, I still don't get it. What are you trying to say, exactly?"

Holding up a finger to tell him to wait, she slipped the radio into her ear and called for Doctor Keller. When she answered, Teyla asked, "Do you still have the test results from Torren?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I would like to look at them again. Could I come and get them now?"

"Sure," Keller replied as she glanced around her. For once, the infirmary was completely empty, except for her. "I'll wait for you to come down."

"Very well. Thank you," Teyla said before switching off her comm. She turned to John again. "Would you mind keeping an eye on him for me until I get back?"

John nodded. "Yeah. But first, could you please tell me what you're up to?"

"As soon as I get back, I will explain. For now, let me just say that there may be a way to make the IOA lose interest in _our_ son."

With that, she swept out of her quarters, leaving a very confused John Sheppard behind.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Here it is, guys - the BIG reveal! Sorry it took so long, but as usual, real life prevails. My PC also decided to be a butt and quit using the internet, so I had to fix that before I could upload anything here! Anywho, hope you enjoy, and I'm thinking there may be one or two more chapters here, just to wrap things up nicely! _

_As always, please leave a review! Hugs to you all!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 8

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><p>As he strode down the hall, John looked at the boy in his arms. Torren stared back at him, his dark eyes barely blinking and his hands clasped behind John's head, giggling softly as John's quick pace made him bounce up and down.<p>

"Uncle John," Torren said then, and John nodded.

"That's me, buddy."

"Where Momma?"

"We're goin' to see her now. She's in Mr. Woolsey's office."

Torren didn't reply, but made a sour face, and John chuckled aloud. "You got that right. He's not much fun, is he?"

Rodney joined up with the pair at a T in the corridor, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hey," he greeted John, then gave Torren a bright grin as John made a grunting noise in reply. "You, uh, have any idea what this meeting is about? I thought we were pretty much done arguing with Woolsey for the day." As he mentioned the expedition leader's name, he wrinkled his nose, and John realized that he was the one from whom Torren had learned the sour face. The kid was picking stuff up quick, he knew then, and made a mental note to remind Ronon to watch his language around Torren.

"Sort of," John answered, shifting Torren higher on his hip. "Teyla got some idea about keeping the IOA off our backs, how to get them to lose interest in TJ's new..." he glanced shiftily from the boy to Rodney and spelled, "p-o-w-e-r-s."

Rodney made another face. "Why are you spelling it?"

"In case he..." he stopped and thought about it, "oh, I don't know, okay? Did you bring the info from Michael's hard drive like Teyla asked?"

The physicist held up a flash drive as if it were a trophy. "Of course."

"Good."

They walked into the office a few moments later, Rodney first and John following behind him, still carrying Torren. Woolsey was behind his desk, as usual, and Ronon had taken up a spot against the wall, looking deceptively calm. John knew that he all he had to do was give Ronon a look, and the Satedan would spring forward, his weapon out and ready. He was the team's unofficial bodyguard – quiet enough to blend into any situation, but ready to fight at a moment's notice. John liked that about him. Having Ronon around came in quite handy, sometimes.

Teyla was perched on the edge of the chair in front of Woolsey's desk, a tablet balanced carefully on her knees. When Torren saw his mother, he bent over at his waist and reached for her, and John had to react quickly before the boy slid right out of his grasp.

"Momma!" Torren cried happily, his hand snagging in her hair. She winced as he pulled on her hair, then gently reached up and untangled his hand.

"Torren," she said, staring right into his eyes, "please stay with Uncle John for a little while longer. Alright?"

He tried to reach for her again, but when she shook her head he pulled himself back up and began to play with John's dog tags instead, pulling them out from under his shirt and jingling them happily.

Woolsey cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Well, since we are all here now, perhaps you would like to tell us what this is about, Miss Emmagen?"

Teyla nodded and stood, holding the tablet in the crook of her arm as she had seen Rodney do many times. Before she spoke, she glanced at John, seeming to draw courage just from his presence. Then, she turned to face Woolsey, her jaw set in determination.

"When we first discovered Torren's special ability, Dr. McKay researched Michael's hard drive for any information about the work he had been doing while I was his prisoner. He found that Michael had been experimenting with my son's DNA, exchanging those genes he had been given by Kanaan with those of Colonel Sheppard's. As you have been informed, the ATA gene he inherited from the colonel is very powerful, almost as much as John himself."

Woolsey nodded at this. "We already know all this, Teyla."

She turned to Rodney and motioned for him to plug the flash drive into Woolsey's laptop, which had been connected to a larger monitor. He stepped forward and did as she asked, then pressed a few keys on the laptop. A moment later, a screen covered with data popped up on the monitor, various dialogue boxes quickly appearing one after another. Teyla waited until Rodney moved back and then stepped into his place, her eyes scanning the screen as if she were looking for something specific. Then, she carefully touched her finger to the monitor, highlighting one of the dialogue boxes, and turned to face the group again.

"In the journal entries that Dr. McKay read earlier, Michael states that Torren's DNA was still mostly Kanaan's – and mine, of course. But even before we knew of his ATA gene, I had begun to doubt that claim."

"You did?" John asked her.

"Yes. When I noticed that Torren's hair was starting to stick up on top of his head, just like yours, John. And then, when Dr. Keller showed me the results of Torren's DNA test, my doubts became even stronger."

"I don't understand," Woolsey admitted then.

"When my son was first born, there was no need for a DNA test because I was sure of who his father was. But when we became concerned over his abilities, we had Jennifer run one, just to rule out any..." she paused as she tried to remember the correct term.

"Genetic anomalies," Rodney supplied for her, and she nodded.

"Yes, thank you. Kanaan's blood type – which was put on file when he began the therapy to return to his former self – is B-negative. Mine is O-negative. If Torren were truly Kanaan's, then his blood type should be either O- or B-negative. But Torren is A-positive, which according to Jennifer means that he received his blood-type from someone with either A- or AB-positive blood."

"Sheppard is A-positive," Rodney breathed. This was really beginning to be too much for him – finding out that the colonel's ATA gene had been grafted into Torren had been one thing, but to discover that he was actually Torren's real, biological father was...well, it was incredible. "But how is that possible?"

"That, I do not know. Perhaps we will never find out for sure, now that Michael is dead."

She paused as a wave of regret quickly passed over her, then was replaced by the familiar feeling of pride at ridding the universe of the scourge that was Michael Kenmore. "At first, I did not realize the discrepancy in blood types when I read the results, because I was too shaken by the fact that Torren had anyone else's DNA in him at all. But after taking a second look, I am certain that he is Colonel Sheppard's biological child."

She chanced a glance John's way, and was not surprised to see the conflict being waged behind his eyes. She allowed herself a moment to silently emphathise with him, knowing that she had just dealt him a huge surprise, and then again leveled her gaze at Woolsey.

"And since he is John's, I am also quite sure that the IOA would not be interested in testing him. After all, he is only exhibiting the same qualities that his father has."

Woolsey stared at the monitor for a long while, and then sighed. He took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "Very well." He looked to Sheppard. "But if anything happens due to his influence, you understand that I must report it to my superiors. I can't guarantee that they will be as...quiescent as I am."

"Understood, sir," John murmured, his thoughts still a jumbled collection of memories and emotions. He looked to Rodney first, who seemed similarly confused, and then to Ronon. His large friend was trying hard to hide a grin, the corners of his goatee twitching like the whiskers of a rabbit. Finally, his gaze rested on Teyla. She had busied herself with disconnecting the flash drive from Woolsey's computer and handing to Rodney, but when she saw John watching her, she gave him a small smile. John's pulse sped up at the sight of her standing there, her hair loose around her shoulders, her dark eyes staring deeply into his, her pink lips moving...

_Oh, crap!_ he thought as he realized she was speaking to him, _focus, John, focus!_

"...tell you earlier, but I wanted to be certain first." Her eyebrows knitted together, and she came forward to lay her hand on his arm. "Are you all right, John?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay?"

She smiled. "Of course."

Now that Teyla was close enough, Torren again bent forward and quickly flung his arms around her neck, effectively trapping her in his grasp.

"Momma!" he cried into her hair. John handed Torren's lower half to her as well, stifling a grin.

"Guess he misses you. I was gonna grab something to eat, anyway." With a mock-salute at Woolsey, he turned toward the door and headed out toward the mess hall.

Rodney stood there for a moment, torn. He desperately wanted to follow after John, to make sure his friend was truly okay with this sudden news, but he also knew that John was very private with his feelings. He didn't like people prying into his head – not even his best friend – often becoming angry if they even suggested talking about something he wasn't ready to deal with.

Deciding that he would risk getting shouted at, Rodney muttered a goodbye and then hurried after John.

* * *

><p>Rodney found John standing at the balcony outside the mess hall, staring out over the ocean. His hands gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles almost completely white, and his breathing was shallow, his nostrils flaring with each inhale.<p>

Cautiously, Rodney stepped forward and stood beside him. "John, are you okay?" He asked softly.

The colonel remained still except for his eyes, which darted to the side to acknowledge the fact that he'd heard Rodney speak. Then, he said, "Don't know."

"You wanna talk about it?" Rodney chanced, wincing as he anticipated John's reaction.

John only shrugged. "Don't know."

"You know, you're starting to sound like Ronon here. Not that you're usually very eloquent to begin with..." At John's irritated glare, he gave up and simply stood there, resting his arms on the railing around the balcony. They silently watched the waves rolling toward the city, the cotton-candy clouds drifting across the sky overhead.

Finally, John ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "When I first started in the military, I didn't want kids. I would've been gone too much – it wouldn't have been fair to them. But a few years ago, I finally decided I was ready."

Rodney nodded. He remembered the conversation they'd had about this same subject, while sitting in their favorite spot on the East Pier.

"I feel like..." John sighed again as he searched for words to accurately describe what he was feeling. "I got cheated, in a way. I mean, it's great that I'm Torren's dad – that takes care of a whole bunch of problems for everyone. But – and this is gonna sound wrong no matter how I say it..."

"You missed out on all the fun of having a kid?" Rodney asked, and John nodded. "It doesn't sound wrong. It was one thing when you thought you were just kinda his half-dad. But to know that a kid was born with your genes, and yet you didn't get to help create that kid...well, I'd call that getting cheated, too."

"And then there's the whole 'Uncle John' thing. Should we keep letting him call me that, or what? He's only two; is he gonna understand that I'm his dad? Kanaan's been 'Dad' his whole life. If we change that now, what'll happen?"

Rodney shook his head. "I don't know the answers to any of those questions, and I doubt anyone does, either. And that's stuff you and Teyla have to figure out between the two of you. But whatever you decide will be right. You're his parents, so don't worry about what anyone else says."

"But I've never done this before, Rodney! What if I screw up?"

"Then you screw up," Rodney shrugged. "But I think you'll be fine. Kids love you. Torren loves you. Besides, you've already been taking care of him his whole life alongside Teyla and Kanaan."

"Yeah," John agreed.

"And speaking of Teyla..." Rodney whispered then, cutting his eyes toward someplace behind them. John followed his gaze and saw Teyla walking to them, her arms, usually so full of Torren, looked almost strange as they were now empty and hanging by her sides. As Rodney mumbled something about needing to check on stuff in his lab and then disappeared, John's heart sped up with each step that she took toward him.

Finally, she stood beside him, and stared up into his hazel eyes. "I again wished to apologize, John. It must be such a shock to you, and the way I revealed the information to you was not the best. I was just so excited that we had a way to keep Torren away from the IOA, I did not think things all the way through."

He shook his head. "It's all right, Teyla. I just don't understand how it happened. I mean it's not like we...well, you know..."

"I told you of the dream I had of Kanaan, the one when I awoke to find that I was clutching the necklace he had given me in the dream?"

John nodded.

"Michael told me that it had never been Kanaan – that he himself had been the one who was visiting my dreams. If he were able to do that once without my knowledge, then it is reasonable that he had done it many times before."

John suppressed a shudder at that thought. "So you think that maybe he tricked you into thinking you were with Kanaan, and then what...did a little in-vitro with my DNA?"

"Would you put such acts past him, when you know full well that he was experimenting on his own kind, and on humans from many worlds?" She asked him.

"No, I believe he was capable of this. I just don't want to believe it."

She nodded in understanding. "I am likewise...disturbed...by the thought. But it is not all bad – what he meant to use for evil has done good."

"What do you mean?"

Teyla quietly sighed, then explained, "While I loved Kanaan – and always will – I was more upset by the fact that he left Torren. A true father would never abandon his son, at least not without good reason. My feelings for Kanaan were not as deep as they should have been, either; I thought that in time, I would grow to love him more, but I was wrong. I could not grow to love him, because I was already in love with someone else."

John could barely breathe, his heart was beating so fast. Could he dare to think she was talking about him? He knew that he loved her with everything he had; would she...did she feel the same? Forcing himself to calm down, he reached over and covered her hand with his, and was thrilled to the core when she splayed her fingers so he could slip his between them.

"Teyla..." he began, his voice thick with emotion.

She looked up into his eyes again and smiled. "It has been so difficult, trying to be a part of the team and acting likewise, when my feelings for you have been so strong. I wanted many times to tell you how I felt, but I was afraid you would not return them, so I kept them to myself. Then, Kanaan and I found each other again, and..." she wiped away the beginnings of tears from her eyes and chuckled softly to herself. "I thought he could make me forget about you."

John released her hand so he could reach around her waist and pull her to him. She went easily, wrapping her arms around his back, her face pressed against his shoulder. He closed his eyes and breathed in her delicate scent, his mind drawn to thoughts of a tropical island, to the warm breezes and light tang of seawater.

"I love you, John," she said then, her lips so close to his ear that he could feel her breath on it.

So many feelings and thoughts rushed over him then, that the words just tumbled out before he could think about them. "I love you, too. I always have."

Teyla glanced up at him in surprise. "You have?"

He nodded. "Since you took me to the cave on Athos, and I found your necklace in the dirt. When I put it on you, I looked into your eyes. They were so dark, so full of mystery, and yet so trusting of me, of someone you barely knew."

She smiled. "I told you that you were different from the others you came with. That you looked at me, rather than through me. I thought it was only because you have a good heart, that you see people as they are."

"And I do. But I saw you because I knew you were just as beautiful inside as you are outside."

Emotion overcame words then, and she finally let the tears fall. John gently brushed them away with his thumbs, then leaned down and kissed her soft lips. Teyla's arms drifted upward until they met behind his neck, while his moved to hold her around the waist. They stayed that way for quite a while, simultaneously letting their tongues slowly twine with the other's, as if they were two lovers who had just found each other once again after being apart.

_And maybe_, Ronon thought as he stealthily watched them from the hallway inside the city, _that's what they are_. They had loved each other for so long but had never made that love known, only now ready to face their true feelings. He was glad for them; Teyla was like a sister to him, and he always felt that she deserved someone who would respect her just as she was. He had known that Sheppard was that man for quite a while, but Sheppard had to learn to believe it on his own time. Ronon was glad he had finally come to that point, and knew that they would be fine together now.

Grinning wolfishly, he got ready to go back the way he had come, and almost ran right over Rodney. The physicist began to squeak out a comment, but when Ronon glared at him he snapped his mouth shut again. After a moment where he checked his temper, Rodney took a breath and asked, "Why are you lurking around here?"

Rather than reply, he took Rodney by the shoulders and pointed him toward the balcony, where John and Teyla were still wrapped in each other's arms. Rodney's eyes widened until Ronon thought they might fall out of his head.

"Oh," was all he said, before grinning just as widely as Ronon had the minute before. Then, as he turned away to continue on down the hall, he chuckled and said, "Finally."

Ronon had to agree. It had taken the better part of six years and Torren's interesting new ability, but the two on the balcony had finally found each other. As he slowly backed away from the scene, Ronon knew deep down in his heart that they would always be together, from now on.

_Finally._

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: So, I couldn't stop writing once I finished Chapter 8, so Chapter 9 was born. LOL_

_This takes place a few months after the last Chap. - which will be explained in the story, but I didn't want anyone to be confused. Heh._

_Enjoy, and all you Lorne-lovers out there, here's a big ole' bunch of Lorne-y goodness for ya! As always, please Review!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet 79

Chapter 9

* * *

><p>John was awakened by a weight flopping suddenly on top of him, and a loud giggle in his ear. As he doubled over the pain in his gut from a stray elbow, John cracked open his eyes and grinned.<p>

"Good morning, TJ," he said as brightly as he could at – he looked over at the clock on the bedside table and groaned softly – 7:15 am.

"Hi, Dad," Torren greeted him in return, flinging his arms around John's neck and planting a sloppy kiss on his stubbled cheek. When the boy finally slid off of him, John sat up and rubbed his hand over his face, grimacing in disgust as his fingers came into contact with something sticky.

"What've you been into?" He asked the toddler, who simply giggled again and then ran off.

"I believe it is called peanut butter and jelly," Teyla said then, appearing in the doorway to the bathroom. "It has become his favorite food these past few days."

"I can tell," John chuckled as he slipped out of bed and made his way over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and dipped his head to press his nose against her shoulder, though he couldn't reach her bare skin as she was wearing a fluffy white robe. "Good morning," he said just before he lightly kissed her lips.

She kissed him back, and when he pulled away she replied, "Good morning, John."

As he stepped into the bathroom, he asked, "What's the plan for today?"

Teyla grinned as she glanced around at the piles of boxes around her quarters. He knew very well what they were about to do, but she decided to play along, anyway. "Well, first I must take Torren to Jennifer in the infirmary, since she has agreed to watch him for the day. Rodney, Ronon and Evan have all agreed to help us, and they have said that they will meet us here."

"When?"

"At eight. Which is very soon, since it is now nearly seven-thirty."

John poked his head out around the doorway and stared at her, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "You know," he said, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably, "I really like living where I do now. And my Johnny Cash poster's gonna be really hard to take down..."

Teyla walked into the bathroom and stood behind him, her chin resting on his shoulder. She stared at his face in the mirror, her dark eyes narrowed. "So then, you would rather sleep alone from now on?"

He stared back at her for a moment, and then chuckled aloud. "No, I love waking up next to you. Even if it means I get Torren's knee in my stomach every morning."

She smiled and playfully swatted his backside. "Good."

After uttering a most unmanly yelp which brought a laugh from Teyla, he finished brushing his teeth and then turned to face her. His hands slipped under her robe, first brushing the bare skin of her thighs, then her waist. His hazel eyes turned suddenly dark, and he gave a lecherous grin as he said, "You know what I love even more? You, without this robe..."

Just then, Torren ran in front of them, and he threw himself at their legs, his arms wrapping around them. "Momma! Dad! I hug, too!"

Casting a rueful smile at Teyla, which she readily returned, John withdrew his hands from her and instead bent to pick Torren up in his arms.

"Yep, and you're so strong, I almost fell over!" John told the boy, who laughed as if that were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Are you ready to see Aunt Jen today?"

Torren nodded so hard he nearly cracked heads with his dad. "Yeah! Auntie Jen!"

"Good," John said, giving the boy a kiss and then setting him back down on his feet. "Then go get your pack and get ready to move out, soldier!"

Torren laughed again, but ran off to find the smaller version of a pack that John had given him to put his toys in, and John grabbed that chance to steal another kiss from Teyla.

"You know, we could always put off moving 'til another day, and just lock ourselves in here alone," he murmured as he nuzzled the spot just behind her ear. Teyla made a noise of satisfaction, but then groaned and pulled away.

"We have friends coming to help us soon," she reminded him.

He waved dismissively. "So? We'll tell 'em we're not ready."

Now, she stood back and peered up at him worriedly. "John, _are_ you ready? It has only been a few months since we discovered that Torren is yours. Perhaps things are moving too quickly..."

He reached for her and drew her back to him. "I'm completely ready for this, Teyla. I love you and TJ too much to let anything come between us, ever again. I spent way too much time ignoring my feelings for you, and I don't intend on wasting any more."

Teyla smiled. "I love you, too."

Now, he waggled his eyebrows. "Someone has to."

She laughed as the door chimed, and they could hear Torren running back and forth across the floor, shouting, "Momma! Door! Momma!" as he went.

"I'll get it," John offered, eying her robe again. She nodded silently and grabbed her clothes from the nearby chair, then closed the bathroom door to get dressed.

Torren was still shouting and running, and John stopped to scoop him up before going to answer the door. When it opened, Rodney made a show of clearing out his ear and wincing.

"That kid's got some lungs, eh? Wonder where he gets that from?" he asked John, who nodded and then tickled Torren until he screamed with laughter, drawing a look of exasperation from Rodney.

"You're early," John informed him. "It's only quarter-to."

Rodney scowled. "Yeah, well, I wanted to beat Ronon for once. He's always wherever I need to be first. It's annoying."

"Well, you did it. Come on in."

As Rodney stepped inside, Teyla came out of the bathroom, still brushing her long auburn hair. She smiled as she noticed the physicist standing there. "Hello, Rodney. You are early today."

John smirked. "He wanted to beat Ronon here."

Teyla lifted an eyebrow. "Oh."

"So," Rodney said, deciding to change the subject, "where are you two moving?"

"Next tower over," John replied. "There's a nice big apartment-type thing there."

"Really?" Rodney asked. "Is that the only one?"

The colonel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Rodney. The Ancients knew there would only be one family living here at a time, and made just one room for them." As Rodney frowned, he said, "There's at least twenty of them. Why?"

"Just wondering. You know, as a member of your team, I would think it'd be unfair if you were the only person to get a bigger place. We've all gone through enough life-and-death situations to fill a book – I think we deserve a reward for coming through them all relatively unscathed."

"And just what do you need a bigger room for? It's just you!"

"For his massive ego. Won't fit in his room anymore," Ronon's voice suddenly said from the doorway. He and Major Lorne stood there, with matching grins on their faces.

Rodney turned around and scowled at the larger man. "Oh, ha ha. Thank you, Conan, for that brilliant remark. You got a whole routine brewing somewhere we don't know about?"

"Maybe," Ronon shrugged. "Heard a joke from Zelenka yesterday. 'What do you call Rodney when he hasn't had his coffee yet?'"

"Know what?" John interjected before they could get to the punchline, and handed Torren off to Teyla. "I think we should get started in my room, first. Teyla, after you drop TJ off with Keller, come find us, okay?"

She tossed him a look of gratitude, and then nodded. "Very well." After leaning up on her toes to press her lips to his cheek, she glanced down at Torren. "Say goodbye to your dad."

"Bye, Dad!" Torren shouted, putting his arms up in the air like two football goalposts. He had continued to do it almost every time he saw John, ever since he had started nearly three months ago.

John laughed and copied his son's gesture. "Bye!"

Once they were gone, Lorne shook his head in disbelief. "You got him to call you 'Dad' already?"

"Yeah. Teyla just told him it was my nickname, like his is TJ, and he started saying it right away." John smiled and joined them in the hallway, and they started for his quarters. "I don't know if he knows what it means, but it works, for now."

"So, you ready for this?" Ronon asked him.

John glared at his friend. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Ronon shrugged. "Big change, moving in with them."

"Well, the answer's yes."

"Good to hear."

They walked in silence until they reached John's room, which was at the other end of the same hall. When they stopped in front of his room, John opened the door and then stood in front of the open space.

"I..." John's eyes darted around nervously for a moment, and then he motioned for them to go inside. When they were safely on the other side of his door, he said, "There's something I wanna show you guys."

"Okay," Rodney replied, instantly curious, and a little nervous himself. Usually, when John said that, either something weird had shown up on his body, or something was about to explode.

The other two men nodded silently, and John dug under his mattress, then pulled something out. It was a small, square box, and when he carefully opened it, they could see a beautiful silver ring nestled inside.

"Sir," Lorne began as he looked from the ring to John's face and back again, "does this mean..."

"It was my mom's," John explained quietly, tracing his finger over the surface of the ring as if he were trying to touch his mother instead. "I've been holding on to it this whole time, after Nancy...after my ex-wife left."

"It's beautiful," Rodney breathed, noting the delicate Celtic-knot pattern that wrapped around the entire ring, as well as the perfect diamond in the center of the larger main knot. The way the precious gem shone reminded him of Teyla's laugh, clear and sparkling, like the sunlight on the surface of the ocean.

"I know it hasn't been very long since all this started, but I wanna ask her to marry me. Tonight, after dinner."

"You serious?" Ronon asked him, and he nodded.

"More than ever." Then, a worried look crossed his face, and he glanced at each of the three men before him. "You guys think she'll say yes?"

Ronon said nothing, instead stepping forward to wrap John in a giant bear hug that lifted him off his feet and squeezed all the air out of his lungs. When he set him down again, John caught his breath and grinned.

"Thanks, Chewy." He looked at the other two. "What do you guys think?"

"I think she'll cry. A lot," Rodney put in, pulling a face. "But she'll say yes."

"I think so, too, sir," Lorne added, breaking protocol to lightly punch his superior on the shoulder, though he wasn't on duty in the first place. "Good luck."

John hesitantly closed the box and then stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "Thanks, you guys." Looking pointedly at Rodney, he added, "Don't say a word about this to anyone, okay? I want it to be a surprise."

"Of course," Lorne agreed, chuckling at the incredulous glare Rodney was giving John.

"Why are you staring at me?" The physicist demanded to know.

"'Cuz you got a big mouth," Ronon informed him, also smiling.

"Calm down, Rodney," John said then, shooting a "not now" look at Ronon, who shrugged. "I'm just lookin' at you 'cause you're right in front of me." He stooped over and grabbed an empty box, then thrust it into his friend's hands. "Let's get goin' on this, okay? It's gonna be a long day."

As they packed up his room, Lorne moved to stand beside his superior. "Permission to speak candidly, sir?"

John chuckled. "We're off-duty, Major. Go right ahead."

Evan nodded. "I just wanted to say how happy I am for the two of you. Teyla is a great woman, and Torren is such a good kid."

"Thank you, Lorne," John replied, genuinely touched by his XO's words. "I'm lucky to have them."

"I also want you to know that should anything happen to you, that my men and I will do everything in our power to take care of them, for the rest of our lives."

"Major..." John began, but Evan shook his head.

"We've already discussed this among ourselves, sir, and have all agreed. You've gone above and beyond for everyone on this base so many times. It's only fair that we return the favor, in any way we can."

"Wow," John breathed, stopping to stand and run his hand through his hair. It wasn't often that he was stunned speechless, but this was one of those rare times.

Evan grinned, proud of the fact that he was the reason for his superior's silence. Clapping the colonel on the back, he said, "Consider it your first wedding gift, sir."

With that, he moved off again to finish packing the box he was holding, and John bent to finish his, still unable to form a single word in his mind, much less on his lips.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: So, what story about Sheppard would be complete without a little Whumpage? I couldn't resist putting some hurt on my favorite guy, but fear not! He shall come out of it, as always! Plus, because I love Rodney to bits and because he's often underestimated, I had to give him a bit of hero-time. _

_This story has really taken off! Never thought it'd be over 10 chapters, as it was only sposed to be a one-shot! Stay tuned, 'cuz this ride isn't over yet! Oh, and the whole idea of how Michael got to Teyla before she was taken in Season 4...remember the episode "Vengeance"? Yup. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. I'll be explaining that in the story, too._

_So, here's Chapter 10. ENJOY, and if anyone needs Kleenex, they'll be on the left. Feel free to pass them around. :)_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 10

* * *

><p>It was supposed to be a simple mission.<p>

Go to the village, check on their supplies and write down anything they needed, maybe share a meal with them, and then come back. And that's exactly how it had started. John's team, designated AT-1, had gone through the Gate at noon, escorted by Lorne's team. Rodney quickly got their heading on the tablet, and off they went.

_So how had it all gone so wrong?_

Just before they had reached the village, a battalion of Wraith had emerged from the forest, firing their stunners at the two teams. Teyla had been hit, which sent John into a murderous rage. He emptied his P-90 into a half-dozen Wraith, then followed it with his back-up handgun. When that was also empty, he slipped out his combat knife and went hand-to-hand with each Wraith he met. Most he dispatched fairly easily, but one of them had managed to take a swipe at him with a knife of its own, opening a wide gash on his upper leg. As he'd fallen to the ground, Lorne sent a shot into the Wraith's exposed throat. Blue-black blood had gushed from the wound, and it fell right on top of John, its weight on his wound tearing an anguished cry from his throat.

Now, Rodney quickly stood up to dial the last symbol on the DHD and pressed the center button, then ducked back behind it as a hail of Wraith stunner-fire blasted around him. The puddle shimmered to life within the Gate, and while the sight sent a brief feeling of relief through him, it was short-lived as he took in the chaos around him.

"Atlantis, this is McKay!" He shouted into his radio.

A moment passed, and then he heard Chuck's voice reply, "This is Atlantis. We read you, Dr. McKay."

"We're under attack, and we've got injured. We're gonna need a med team in the Gate Room, now!" He looked over at Teyla and Ronon, who were tending to John. He was blessedly unconscious, having worn himself out screaming in pain from the laceration on his thigh, though Rodney wondered whether letting him pass out was really a good thing. At this moment, Ronon was tying a makeshift tourniquet around John's leg to stop the heaviest of the bleeding, so that Teyla could wrap a bandage around it, while Lorne's men – minus Lieutenant Morris – laid down cover fire for them.

"Understood," Chuck said in Rodney's ear. "Your IDC is confirmed. You may step through."

Rodney wanted to tell him that they wouldn't be stepping so much as stumbling, but he clamped his jaw shut and switched off his radio, then shouted over to Ronon, "How is he?"

Ronon kept working as he replied, "Still out. Lost a lot of blood."

_Great_, Rodney thought. Then, "Can you carry him?"

"Not with this arm," Ronon replied, holding up his left arm, which had shielded the rest of his upper body from an explosive a Wraith had tossed at him. Bits of shrapnel littered his tanned skin, glittering in the afternoon sun. He'd be okay, but whichever infirmary nurse was chosen to clean the bits out of his arm was going to have a field day.

Rodney looked around wildly, trying to find someone, anyone, to help John. Finally, realization dawned, and he quickly reloaded his handgun and then waited for a lull in the fighting before running, half-crouched, over to his team. Just before he could speak to them, he spied a Wraith rushing toward them, and fired a handful of shots at its head. Through sheer luck, one bullet struck it between the eyes, and it went down still snarling.

"Give him to me!" He shouted at Ronon over the sound of Lorne's men firing the last of their ammunition. "Just cover me and I'll take him back!"

"You can't carry him!" Ronon argued, but Rodney shook his head.

"I have to try. Look, I'll drag him if I have to!" Rodney glanced over to Teyla, his blue eyes pleading. "He has to get home, and so do you!"

She nodded and immediately began lifting John's unconscious body into a sitting position. Ronon stilled her with a hand on her shoulder.

"What're you doing?"

"Rodney is right. I believe he can do this." She gazed at Ronon. "Please, Ronon."

He considered their situation for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay." At another lull, Ronon lifted John off the ground. Rodney wrapped his arms under John's shoulders, then stood up straight and started dragging him to the Gate.

"We'll cover you," Ronon told him, already firing off his blaster at one Wraith after another.

Rodney kept moving toward the Gate, trying not to focus on anything but taking one step at a time, as quickly as he could. John's weight was heavy on his arms, and before he was even halfway to the Gate, he was already sweating and panting with the effort of trying to keep his grip on his injured friend. But he had to. There was a little boy who needed his dad, and Rodney would be damned before he let that boy down.

"Please, God," he muttered as he dug his heels harder into the ground and yanked John along with him. "Just one more step. Please. One more." He continued in this way, begging and dragging, until suddenly there was hard floor underneath his feet, and the blue puddle of the Gate was in front of him. Shortly after he was through, Ronon and Teyla sped through, and then a few moments after that, Lorne and his team backed into the Gate Room.

Rodney was so relieved to be home that he could've cried. As the Gate shut down, he let his legs collapse at last, and he and John both sank to the floor.

Keller ran over to them, a medical kit in her hands. "Oh my God!" she breathed as she saw the gash on John's leg. Then, her mask of professionalism slid into place, and she began ordering her team into action. In less than a full minute they had John on a gurney, his vitals all checked, and an IV in his arm. Before Rodney could think about standing, they were already wheeling John toward the infirmary.

Woolsey came down to the main room. "What happened?"

"We got _ambushed_, that's what!" Rodney cried, clearly upset. "I thought the last team to visit said the planet was clear!"

"It was," Woolsey confirmed.

"Not anymore," Ronon rumbled as he made his way over to Rodney and helped him to his feet.

Lorne came to stand nearby, unclipping the weapon from his tac vest. "He's right, sir. The place was crawling with Wraith. The village was probably already culled before we got there; someone from there probably unwillingly informed the Wraith that we were coming, and they decided to wait for us."

Woolsey nodded, his face paling at the thought. Then, he noticed Ronon's still-bleeding arm and turned even whiter. "You should go get that taken care of," he told the Satedan, who shrugged indifferently, as if the wound on his arm was no larger than a paper cut.

"After I check on Sheppard," Ronon replied. He turned to the rest of the team. "You comin'?"

Teyla and Rodney both nodded emphatically. They started out of the room, but Rodney just happened to look back and spied a familiar-looking black box on the floor where he and John had fallen.

_The ring_, his mind gasped. He had almost forgotten about John's plan to propose tonight, and from the look on Lorne's face, so had he.

Rodney waited until Teyla had turned the corner in the hall and then rushed between Lorne and Woolsey, bending down and scooping up the box all in one quick motion. Ignoring the puzzled look the IOA man gave him, Rodney stuffed the box in his pocket and then jogged out of the room and down the hall. When he arrived in the infirmary, he and the others kept to the waiting area, as the area around John's bed was in a flurry of activity. Machinery beeped incessantly and medical staff rushed to and fro, shouting back and forth at each other. One of the nurses slipped and fell to her knees, and Rodney's stomach dropped as he saw that she had slipped in blood.

John's blood.

It was everywhere – on the floor, covering Keller's hands, smeared on the handrails of the gurney. Rodney turned fearful eyes on Teyla, but she did not return his gaze. She was staring hard at John's pale face, her lips moving silently in a prayer, as if her whispered words alone could bring him back. He looked to Ronon next; the large man's jaw was clenched tight, his fists balled up at his sides, and Rodney at first thought that perhaps he was dreaming, that none of this was real and he would soon wake up, safe in his bed. He screwed his eyes shut and begged whoever was listening to make him wake up, but when he opened them again, he was still in the infirmary, watching Keller's team work on John's lifeless form.

"His heart..." he murmured then, as he heard the beep of the heart monitor. "It's still beating. That's...he's gotta be okay."

His hand stole into his pocket and touched the box he'd rescued from the Gate Room floor, and he had to blink hard to keep angry tears from falling. This wasn't fair. John had just found the family he'd always wanted, and now here he was, a hair's breadth from death.

_Why couldn't it be me?_ Rodney asked himself. W_hy does it have to be John laying there? Why is it __**always**__ him? _

He looked at Teyla again and saw that she had finally lost the battle to keep her tears at bay. Before he could stop himself, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. Her arm wrapped around his waist, her hand clutching at his shirt under the tac vest that he had yet to remove, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"He's gonna be okay," he told her, though he doubted that claim himself. "He wouldn't leave you and Torren. Not now."

Keller happened to move close to them then, and he grasped her lab coat to stop her. She turned wide eyes on him, and despite the chaos that surrounded them at that moment, he couldn't help but think that she looked so beautiful standing there. Then, the panic in his chest took over and he asked, "What's going on?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, Rodney," she replied, casting worried glances back at her patient. "The wound on his leg is pretty deep – his femoral artery was severed nearly in half. As soon as we stabilize him, we'll be doing surgery to repair it."

"But he's gonna...he'll be okay, right?" His eyes begged her to give him the answer he needed to hear.

Keller sighed and glanced over at John again. "I can't say for sure. His heart is still going strong, but right now that's almost a detriment, as it's pumping out his blood faster than we can keep up with."

"You have to help him, Jennifer! He has to make it...He..." he glanced down at Teyla, who was trying hard to control her own emotions. "He's John Sheppard. He always makes it out okay."

"I'll try my best," she promised all three of them before rushing back over to the gurney.

Lorne arrived in the infirmary a few minutes later, and Rodney filled him in on John's condition. The major nodded sadly, his blue eyes downcast.

"My guys are all pulling for him," he told the three teammates. "Reed's down in the chapel right now."

"I didn't know Reed was religious," McKay wondered aloud.

Lorne nodded again. "Very. Carries a tiny Bible with him on every mission."

Rodney fell silent as he turned back to watch Keller's team, and Lorne softly added, "Let's hope someone hears him."

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: So, for some reason Document Manager isn't letting me upload new chapters, so I'm just modifying old chapters and saving them as new ones. We'll see if this works..._

_I know this chapter doesn't really have much to do with Torren, but I felt like Rodney needed a little more, so...yeah. Also, we get to find out whether Shep's gonna get better! YAY! As always, please R&R! _

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

By scarlet79

Chapter 11

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><p>John's leg felt like it was on fire, but the rest of his body was freezing cold. He tried to open his eyes, but could only crack them halfway before they sagged back shut, too exhausted to open all the way. He gave up on that, and instead used the rest of his senses to try and figure out where he was. There was an annoying beep near his head, and his nose picked up the astringent smell of disinfectant – okay, so he was in the infirmary. At least, that was his best guess, as the bed underneath him felt familiarly stiff and the pillow extra lumpy.<p>

He tried hard to remember why he was here, but his memory decided not to cooperate, though he figured it had something to do with why his leg hurt like hell. Shivering, he blindly reached down for a sheet, something to cover himself up with, but stopped when warm fingers brushed the back of his hand.

"John?" A voice asked then, its edges raw with exhaustion. "Can you hear me?"

_Teyla._

He tried again to open his eyes, rejoicing when they finally fluttered open and he could look upon her beautiful face. He nodded as vigorously as he could, though it came out to little more than a slight downward motion. Even that small move brought a brief spell of vertigo that almost made him nauseous, but he hid it as she broke out in a beaming grin.

"I see you," he whispered to her, and her heart soared as she realized that he was as much reminding her of their first meeting on Athos, and their recent conversation about it, as he was being literal. Though his color was still a bit paler than she liked, after the past few harrowing days when she thought he would surely slip away, she felt that he was finally on his way back to her.

"I will go and get Jennifer," she said as she stood up and swiftly exited his curtained-off area. He listened to the soft sounds of her footsteps as she made her way toward Keller's office, and even picked up the murmur of her voice as she informed the doctor that he had awakened. A few moments later, both women returned. Teyla stood beside his bed, his hand held in hers and pressed to her cheek while Jennifer looked him over.

"Nice to see you awake, Colonel," the young doctor smiled as she quickly examined his pupils with her penlight. "Do you know your name?"

John sighed. This part was all too familiar to him, and he hated it.

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," he rasped, thanking Teyla with his eyes when she handed him a cup of water. He took a small sip to ease the tightness in his throat and then handed it back. "And this is the infirmary, in the city of Atlantis. Pegasus galaxy."

"Good," Jennifer affirmed with a nod. "Do you remember what happened to you? Why you're here?"

He thought about that for the second time, and only now did the memory of his injury come back, and in full force. He sighed again, then replied, "Took a Wraith dagger...to my thigh, during close-quarters combat. Damned thing...nearly split my artery wide open."

"Right again." Keller cast a quick glance at Teyla. "Sounds like John Sheppard to me."

Teyla gave her a wry smile. "Yes, it does."

"How does your leg feel?" Keller asked him as she began to peel back the bandage to check his stitches, and he grimaced.

"Like a bull...gored it all to hell."

"That's not too far off from the truth," she told him. Gently probing the flesh around the sutures, she felt for any rise in temperature as well as tenderness – both of which would indicate infection – and for any abnormal scar tissue, but felt none. When she was satisfied, she quickly switched her gloves for a new pair and put a clean bandage on him.

As she worked, he swung his head toward Teyla and found himself fighting another bout of nausea. His vision swam dangerously, and he decided to shut his eyes and see if that helped. Breathing slowly, he asked, "Everyone...okay? Rodney, Ronon, Lorne..."

"They are all fine. But I am afraid that Lieutenant Morris did not make it."

John nodded at the mention of Lorne's cheerful second officer, the sound of his agonized scream echoing in his mind. He swallowed thickly against the wave of guilt that threatened to drown him, then softly replied, "Yeah. I remember that, too."

"I probably should not tell you this," she began, and he was too curious to leave his eyes shut. Teyla was leaning toward him conspiratorially and lifting one of her perfect eyebrows, and he couldn't help but smile at that. It was rare for her to engage in any kind of gossip, so he knew this should be good. "But Rodney stayed here with you until just a short while ago. He would not leave that chair for an entire day. Zelenka had to come and bring his laptop down to him," she added, pointing to the seat she had been sitting in when he had awakened.

"Really?" He asked, at once touched that a man who so hated the infirmary – and medicine in general – would willingly sit beside him, and yet disappointed that he was no longer there.

She nodded. "Jennifer threatened to sedate him if he did not retire to his quarters for a few hours."

"Indeed I did," Keller said as she dumped the used bandages into a nearby waste bin. "And speaking of sleep, you should get some more if you want that leg to heal anytime soon."

"Not tired," he argued. "Dizzy, though."

"That would be mostly from the antibiotics and pain meds, with a side of blood loss." Keller gave him a saintly look and added, "You're one lucky guy, you know. Another few minutes of you lying out there bleeding, and you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

He glanced up at Teyla and said, "I've just got a reason to live, that's all." Then, he winked roguishly. "And it helps that I'm stubborn as an ass."

"I think it has more to do with the fact that Rodney got you to the Gate quickly," Teyla told him as Dr. McKay himself strolled through the swinging doors. "He insisted on trying to carry you, despite the heavy fire-fight going on all around him."

"You carried me?" John asked Rodney, who sank down on the edge of John's bed and shrugged.

"More like dragged you. You're heavier than you look."

They shared a quiet chuckle, and then John leaned his head back against the pillow, once more fighting against overwhelming fatigue. "Well, thanks, Rodney. I appreciate it."

The physicist waved him off. "Don't mention it." He stood and moved over toward John's head. "I should let you rest. You look terrible."

John chuckled again. "You always tell me just what I wanna hear." As Rodney turned to leave, John's hand suddenly snaked out and grabbed him by the wrist. At the startled look in his friend's eyes, John released his grip and instead scrubbed his hand over his face. He didn't want to seem weak, or afraid, and..._well, weren't those two things really the same? _

"I, uh, could use some company." He cleared his throat and paused as Teyla helped him take another sip of water. "If you wanna stay, I mean."

Rodney immediately looked to Jennifer, who seemed to be taking her time making up her mind. Finally, she nodded, though she held up a finger in warning.

"Only if you both follow the rules," she agreed. "Colonel, you will get plenty of sleep, and promise to stay in that bed no matter what happens. You will also take all your medicine without putting up a fight."

"I can live with that," John replied with a nod.

"And Rodney, you will let him sleep as much as he wants, without interruption. Also, no more rude comments about medicine being 'voodoo'."

Rodney huffed. "That's easy. No problem."

She rolled her eyes and then shared a longsuffering glance with Teyla.

Which reminded her...

"Oh, and Torren can come and visit for a little while, but no lifting him. Teyla can hold him on her lap."

At this, John literally pouted. "That's not fair! I can hold him just fine..."

But Keller remained firm. "No, Colonel. Those stitches are pretty strong, but even a two-year-old can get rough enough to tear them." She crossed her arms. "Those are my rules, and if you don't like them..."

"We will take them, Jennifer," Teyla replied quickly, laying her hand on John's arm to silence him. "Thank you."

Jennifer nodded and stepped away to deal with another patient, and John made a show of tossing his head back against his pillow and sighing dejectedly. Teyla suppressed the urge to roll her eyes toward the ceiling, instead lightly settling on the edge of his bed and brushing his dark hair away from his forehead.

"I know how much staying in here bothers you, John. But if you ever wish to leave, you must take the time to heal properly."

He blinked slowly, pushing his frustration down deep inside. "I know. I just wanna see our new home, sleep in my new bed."

"And you will," she promised. "But for now, you should rest. I need to relieve Laura from watching Torren, anyway. I will return with him in a few hours, if you'd like."

"Sounds great, Teyla. Thanks," he said.

She bent down and gently pressed a kiss to his forehead, then another on his lips. "I am glad you are all right."

"Me too," he whispered before she stood up again.

She gave him one more smile, thanked Rodney silently with a hand on his shoulder, and then left the infirmary. When she had gone, Rodney sank into the chair beside John, running his hand nervously over his diminished head of hair.

"What's wrong with you?" John asked him, and rather than explain, Rodney simply reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it. He dropped the object into John's palm, and the colonel's heart sank as he recognized it.

"The ring," he breathed, and Rodney nodded. "Where was it?"

"On the floor in the Gate room." John's head snapped up, sending his vision blurry again, and Rodney quickly added, "Don't worry, she didn't see it."

"Guess that whole idea's gonna have to wait a while, huh?"

Rodney shrugged. "I guess. Infirmary proposals never quite have the same feeling to them as normal ones."

John tried to bark out a laugh, but only succeeded in letting out a hoarse cackle. "I'm gonna make my own rule, about that word."

"What? Which one?" Rodney asked with a frown.

"'Normal'. No such thing."

His friend thought about that for a while, and then nodded. "You've got a point, there. Normality all depends on what a person experiences in his or her life; so it _does_ exist as a concept, but at the same time, because each person is so different from another, normality is subjective and arbitrary to the point that it's virtually meaningless. What's normal to you might not be normal to me, and vice versa."

John carefully sat up, wincing at the burning sensation in his thigh. "Right? Like your huge appetite. I think that's pretty abnormal."

Rodney nodded. "And I think your propensity for running into trouble where there was none five minutes before is abnormal."

"You're just jealous because I get all the attention when I go and get banged up."

The scientist chuckled and shook his head. "You wish, Sheppard."

They sat in amicable silence for a while, John listening to the beat of his heart being steadily beeped out by the monitor and Rodney just thinking about whatever myriad of ideas popped into his brilliant mind during any given day.

"Rodney," John's sleep-slurred voice called to him, and he turned to look at his friend.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

John grinned, and in that simple gesture Rodney could see Torren mirrored perfectly in his father's face. He wondered at not being able to see it before. "For saving me."

"It's okay. You don't have to thank me..."

The grin faded; John shook his head. "Yeah, I do. Was pretty brave of you to drag me to the Gate like you did. You coulda got killed."

"Never crossed my mind," Rodney replied. It was half-true, anyway. It had crossed his mind, right in the beginning, but when he'd realized that he was the only one who could help, he'd pushed the thought to the very bottom of his consciousness.

Though John shot him a look of doubt, he asked, "What _did_ cross your mind, then?"

"Getting you back home to your family." Rodney shifted in his seat, slouching down a little. This particular conversation was growing awkward, but he knew that they needed to have it. "They need you, especially right now, and well...I saw it as my job to make sure they had you. No matter what."

For the second time in less than a week, John was speechless. He felt responsible for the well-being of his team, and knowing that Rodney had faced such real jeopardy for him was intolerable. He was the one who should be risking life and limb for his team, not the other way around. Seemingly embarrassed by his explanation, Rodney gazed down at the floor, his cheeks slightly ruddier than usual, and that made John feel even worse.

Finally, John found his voice again. "Rodney," he said, "I know I give you a hard time sometimes, but it's only 'cause you're like a brother to me, and that's just what brothers do. But I'm being completely serious when I say that I'm grateful for all you did. Really."

Stunned by John's words, Rodney could only nod. Here was the same man he had half-dragged off a planet with his leg ripped open and bleeding, who had lain unconscious in the infirmary for the better part of three days close to death, now staring at him with a combination of respect and gratitude in his eyes. To say Rodney was proud was a vast understatement.

Noticing the way John's eyelids were drooping closed, Rodney eased back in his chair and got comfortable, and John likewise cautiously shimmied back down under his covers, shifting his head slightly from right to left until he found a cool spot on the pillow. Before Rodney could ask him if he needed anything, John was quietly snoring, and so the physicist drew out his tablet computer and a stylus and went back to work.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Well, whatever was plaguing my Document Manager has worked itself out...so here's Chapter 12! Just a heads-up, it ends in a cliffhanger, so be prepared!_

_Not much to say about this other than I just really really really have had fun writing this story so far, and it's not over yet, so there's more fun to be had! It's been great reading all of your feedback, and for those who I haven't managed to reply to yet, fear not - I DO appreciate your reviews!_

_Much love to you all! Enjoy this chapter, and stay tuned!_

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 12

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><p>The sun shone out over the East Pier, casting its bright rays across the city like spotlights. The entire team had gathered to celebrate John's release from the infirmary earlier that day, and now they all sprawled out on various cushions and blankets that they had "borrowed" from inside the city. Rodney had somehow convinced someone to help him drag out an entire full-sized mattress, and now he lounged on it, looking very king-like as Jennifer knelt beside him and handed him bunches of fresh fruit to nibble on. Ronon had nabbed the mats from the gym, and he, Teyla and John all sat on those, while Zelenka sat on a folded blanket Jennifer had brought from the infirmary. Major Lorne was perhaps the most surprising of all, as he had exchanged his uniform for a pair of board shorts and a black t-shirt, and was now reclining on a plastic chaise lounge. Where he had found that, John had no idea, but he looked decidedly at ease in it. What was more, Torren happily played on Lorne's lap, again pretending that one of his toys was a cell phone.<p>

John watched his son playing with something akin to pure joy on his face. Never before had he thought that he would see the day that he, John Sheppard, would be a father. And he had come so close to missing that chance, so near to losing both Torren and his mother all at once. He decided that he would do everything he could to keep that from happening again.

During a brief lull in the conversation, John cleared his throat and caught Rodney's eye, and the physicist nodded his understanding. This was it, Rodney knew; John had informed him of his plan earlier, when he'd roped Rodney into escorting him back to his quarters. Reaching into the cooler he'd brought along, Rodney dug something out of the ice at the bottom and waited as patiently as he could for John to speak.

"Um...There's something I'd like to do right now, if that's okay," he said, pausing for a moment to calm the sudden quiver in his voice. Everyone around him nodded, and when he had taken a deep breath, he grasped Teyla's hand in his and stared only at her.

"John? Are you all right?" She asked him nervously. "You look pale."

"I'm okay. Just a little nervous," he assured her with a small grin. "I originally planned to do this a few weeks ago, but things happened."

She nodded, telling him to go on.

"Since the first time I met you, I knew you were different from every other woman I'd ever known. You quickly became my best friend, always there when I needed you. You and Torren are the best things that have ever happened to me, and I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with both of you. I love you so much it scares me, it takes my breath away."

Now, he pulled out the ring box and carefully opened it in front of her. The diamond glittered in the sunlight, reflecting onto her bronzed skin, and she gasped as she peered at it. When she looked back up at John, he swallowed convulsively and asked, "Would you marry me?"

At first, she made no reply at all, and John broke out in a nervous sweat. He'd known this was a bad idea – proposing in public like this put her in an awkward spot, especially if the answer was no. He should have stuck to his original plan...just the two of them, at the balcony outside the Gate room, with the sun setting before them. But then, what made him think she would say yes under those circumstances? Or any circumstances, for that matter?

"John," she finally said, her soft voice drifting on the summer breeze. He slowly lifted his eyes to look at her, and noticed that she had taken the ring out of the box and was holding it out for him to put on her finger. "I would be most honored to be bound to you. Forever."

Before he could move, the Pier erupted in cheers, the loudest of them all from their son, who was squealing at the top of his lungs even though he had no idea what they were cheering about. Lorne stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could, and Ronon couldn't scramble over to them fast enough. He caught them both in a huge bear hug, squeezing the air from John's lungs and simultaneously planting a kiss on Teyla's cheek. When he released them, John took her hand and quickly slid the ring onto her finger, and a very Keller-like cat-call could be heard as Teyla leaned forward and kissed him passionately on the mouth. Rodney had already prepared a bottle of champagne and some glasses in anticipation of the moment, and now he popped the cork on the bottle and began pouring everyone a glass. Jennifer handed them out, taking a moment to tickle Torren and playfully scold him for trying to steal a glass away from her.

When everyone had raised their glass, John paused to watch the sunlight filter through the bubbles in the champagne, and he suddenly found himself missing Elizabeth so much that his chest grew tight, and his eyes blurred. She had been such a great friend, and he knew she would have loved to have been with them. Teyla saw his reaction, and comfortingly pressed her shoulder against his. When the tightness faded enough for him to speak, he finally murmured, "Cheers."

Echoes of "cheers" rippled through the group, followed by the musical sound of their glasses clinking together, and then everyone drank from their glasses. Jennifer and Teyla sipped from theirs, while the men seemed to swallow theirs all in one gulp, at the same time. When they finished, Jennifer collected the glasses and stowed them away again, and after a round of hugs and congratulations, she and Rodney swept up Torren and made their exit. Major Lorne was called away soon after, sighing dejectedly as he realized that he would have to change back into his uniform, and Zelenka followed him, claiming that he was getting sunburnt.

Now that it was just the three of them, John and Ronon piled up the various cushions in a slight alcove of the city, and then rejoined Teyla at the edge of the Pier. She was sitting right on the lip, her bare feet dangling directly over a hundred foot drop, her slender hands combing her hair back from her face. John loved that daring side of her, the side that looked at danger and did nothing more than shrug at it. Being around her in those moments made him feel just as daring, just as invulnerable, and he loved her even more for it.

Ronon dropped onto the Pier on one side of Teyla, and John sat on the other. She glanced at each of them in turn and smiled happily.

"This has been a most wonderful day," she told them, taking the time to peer down at her new ring for the tenth time in as many minutes. "I feel truly blessed to have both of you in my life."

Ronon grinned back, showing his pearly white teeth. "We're the lucky ones. 'Specially Sheppard."

She ignored the jab, though John tried his best mock-hurt look. Blocking out his view of Ronon with her head, Teyla said, "John, I wished to ask you...what is an Earth wedding ceremony like?"

He shrugged. "Lots of white satin and flowers. I was actually gonna ask you if you wanted to do an Athosian thing, instead. Since you're the bride, I thought we should honor _your_ culture."

"Why could we not do both? Combine the best elements of each, and leave out the rest?"

He considered this and then nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Do I get to help?" Ronon asked from behind her. Teyla looked expectantly at John, who shrugged.

"Sure, Buddy. You can be one of my groomsmen."

"Cool. What do I do?"

"Stand up with me at the altar, throw me a killer bachelor party...fun stuff."

The Satedan lifted an eyebrow. "What's a bachelor party?"

"Um, all the guys in the wedding party, plus a few guy friends, sit around and play cards, drink beer...if we were on Earth, you'd try to drag me to a strip club..." As he noticed Teyla's eyebrow climbing ever higher on her forehead, John sighed. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

Ronon shrugged, perfectly fine with changing the subject for now. "'Kay. I'm gonna go find some food. You wanna come?"

Teyla gazed at him in disbelief. "We just had a very large picnic meal. How could you be hungry again?"

He shrugged. "I'm a big guy." He gave her a quick hug before standing up, then thumped John on the back. "I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks," John replied, trying to hide the fact that he'd been so startled by the sudden contact that he'd nearly jumped and fallen over the edge of the pier. When his hands and feet stopped tingling, he waved as his friend left, then wrapped his arm around Teyla and pulled her close. They watched the sun begin to set together, and John saw the first few seabirds start to swirl over the water's surface, skimming the water for the small fish that were their prey.

"I'm glad you said yes," he said quietly after a while, his eyes still on the horizon.

She nodded. "As am I. I have dreamed of this day for quite some time."

"Yeah?" He asked, as though the thought had never occurred to him before.

She nodded again, smiling. "Yes. Although I knew that you were hesistant about letting someone close to you again, I dared to hope that you would share more with me than just friendship."

A thought popped into his head then, and he angled his head down to look at her. "I don't want you to think that I'm just doing this because of Torren, because I'm his dad. 'Cause I'm not. I just...I wanted to make sure you were okay after Kanaan, that you were ready to trust me."

The worry in his eyes made her heart ache, and she hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him gently, hoping that through it, he felt all the comfort and honesty she meant to give him. Resting her forehead against his, she replied, "I know that, John. And you are the only person I have always trusted."

Sitting like this, so close to one another, it seemed that John could feel every breath between them, every heartbeat. When his eyes peered into hers, he again found himself just as lost in them as he'd been at their first meeting, and his own breath caught in his throat. This was the woman he had been dreaming of all along, the one who he would do anything to protect, to comfort, to see her smile. The sheer amount of love he held for her was overwhelming, leaving him grasping for any shred of coherent thought before it swept him away.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" He asked her, and she smiled mischievously.

"Yes. But I will never tire of hearing it."

He moved his head to gaze at the ocean once more, and she turned to follow his line of sight as well. "You see that out there?"

"The sea?" She asked, and he nodded. "Yes."

"It isn't big enough to hold it all. There isn't an ocean big enough, anywhere." He turned back to her, his hazel eyes reflecting the amber sunlight, sparking like the embers of a fire. "I would do anything for you, and for Torren. And I know I should be saving this for our vows, but I need to practice telling you how I feel now. I can't promise that things will always be easy between us, or that we'll never disagree on one thing or another. But I'm willing to work it out, no matter how long it takes. I'll never run away from our problems. I'm with you forever."

His words had brought tears to her eyes, and now she brushed them away with her knuckle. As John lifted her damp finger to his lips, kissing away her tears, she whispered, "And I am with you."

John leaned down to press a gentle kiss on her lips, but she surprised him by returning it with more fire, more passion than he'd thought possible. Her enthusiasm soon caught on to him as well; he tangled his hands in her silky hair, trapping her against him, but she would not complain. Instead, she sighed softly against his mouth, then parted her lips and pressed her tongue against his. He pushed back, then slipped past it to run his tongue across her full bottom lip, smiling as he felt her shiver in his arms. His hand skimmed up her back, then dipped beneath her shirt, his fingers brushing her bare skin. Teyla made a soft noise under his mouth, emboldening him to slip it around her ribcage, toward the front.

He was just about there – he could feel the taut muscles of her upper abs under his palm, when she suddenly stiffened and pulled away from him. Confused and disappointed, John removed his hand and gazed down at her mutely. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he was afraid to hear the answer.

"Someone is coming," she explained, touching his face to let him know that she had not wanted to pull away, either. Her head inclined slightly toward the right, to the space behind them, and he turned to look.

Major Lorne was coming toward them, a look of both apology and concern in his eyes. John jumped up immediately, knowing something bad must have happened, and Teyla quickly stood to join him. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring a radio out with them earlier. Precious seconds could have been wasted in the time it took the Major to come and get him.

"What's wrong?" He asked Lorne, who finally reached them and now stood in front of John.

Lorne looked back and forth from John to Teyla and back again. The words he uttered next were the ones John had almost known – and had feared – were coming.

"It's Torren, sir."

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: AAAGH! Finally, a NEW chapter! This one gave me problems, I'll tell ya. LOL Anyway, sorry to end this chapter on another cliffie, but my sis-in-law TT gave me a really great idea and I just had to run with it. Don't worry, though, I should have the next chapter up real soon - not like last time! _

_So, here it is. Please enjoy!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 13

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><p>Before Lorne could utter another word, both parents immediately took off toward the city at a run. Lorne quickly caught up with them, and when they had reached the doors to the city, Lorne went first, shouting for them to follow him to the infirmary.<p>

When they finally rushed into the infirmary, John almost collided with Rodney, who was frantically pacing back and forth, chewing on his fingernail. They could hear Torren crying hysterically, and though it bothered John to hear him so upset, he was relieved to know that his son was conscious.

"What happened?" John demanded to know, grabbing Rodney's shoulders to stop him. The physicist looked up into his eyes, a miserable frown on his face.

"I only looked away for a minute. I swear, John, I never left him alone! I don't know how he managed to climb up...I'm so sorry!"

John forced himself to stay calm, if only for Teyla's sake. She looked about ready to either scream, or cry. Gripping Rodney a little tighter, he said, "Rodney, it's okay. Just tell me what happened!"

Rodney stopped rambling and blinked, as if he'd just been startled out of a dream. Seeing John there in front of him, he suddenly switched into his professional, somewhat-detached mode. "Torren climbed up on the back of the couch in the rec room, and I guess he fell off. Hit his head on the floor so hard it was bleeding. Jennifer's checking him out right now." His eyes again blurred with tears then, and he gazed at Teyla. "I'm so sorry!"

True to her nature, Teyla's first instinct was to comfort him. She gave him an encouraging smile, her eyes compassionate. "It is not your fault, Rodney. It was an accident."

"But I was the one watching him!" Rodney argued.

John shook his head. "He's a kid, Rodney. They get hurt sometimes." He released his friend's shoulders and looked at Teyla. "I'm gonna go see what's going on."

She nodded in reply, and while John stepped over to Keller and her team, she took Rodney by the hand and led him to the chairs in the waiting room. She gently pushed him into a seat, then poured him a glass of water and pressed it into his hand.

"Thanks," he mumbled before taking a sip of the water.

"You are welcome."

"Guess I make a horrible babysitter, huh? First I drop the kid when he's a newborn, and now I let him take a nose-dive off a couch."

Teyla shook her head. "You are a fine sitter, Rodney. Children often have accidents like this."

"I should never have taken my eyes off of him," Rodney muttered, staring down at the cup in his hand.

Breathing in a deep sigh, Teyla laid her hand on his wrist, and he looked over at her. "When I was young, my father would often go out on hunting parties for days at a time, leaving my mother to care for me alone. One day, while she was mending some clothing out in the sunlight, I decided to play with my dolls by the lake. I accidentally knocked one of them into the water, and so I tried to reach her before she got too far away. I slipped on the wet grass at the edge, and fell in.

"By the time my mother got to me, I had breathed in quite a bit of water. Luckily, Charin was also nearby, and they both worked together to help me cough up all the water, and then got me into bed to rest a while." She squeezed his wrist a little, a wry smile on her face. "My mother was beside herself all the rest of that day, blaming herself for not keeping a closer eye on such a troublesome child as I. But Charin just shook her head and told her to stop. 'My dear Tagan,' she said, 'how else will Teyla learn to be independent if you constantly hover around her like a bird? Let her be a child, full of curiosity and freedom, and she will run to you for comfort when that curiosity leads her to trouble.'"

"Is that how you...became you?" Rodney asked, and Teyla allowed herself a small chuckle.

"Not precisely. My mother continued to 'hover', for quite a few more years. It wasn't until she was taken, when Charin took over caring for me while my father was gone, that I learned to be the leader of my people."

John returned then, looking somewhat relieved, and Teyla noticed then that she no longer heard Torren's cries. Rodney tried to stand up, but John shook his head at him, and so he stayed put.

"How is he?" Teyla asked him.

John took the seat beside her, sighing as he relaxed against the cushion. "He'll be fine. Got a pretty bad crack on the head, but there's no swelling and no concussion. Must've got my hard head, too. Anyway, he's okay, but Keller said to keep an eye on him, just in case."

Though he knew they had already forgiven him, Rodney shook his head sadly. "You guys, I feel horrible for this. The poor kid."

"He's fine, Rodney. Why don't you go on to the mess hall? I heard they got in chocolate pudding."

This perked the scientist up right away. "They do?"

John nodded. Rodney turned to Teyla and smiled. "Thanks for...you know...cheering me up."

She smiled in return. "Any time."

They all stood up together, and when Rodney made his mad dash for the mess hall, Teyla and John stepped into the treatment area. Teyla spotted her son immediately, sitting on a bed with some sort of stuffed animal hooked in his arm. A bright white butterfly stitch had been placed on the lump above his left eye, and he was dressed in a scrub shirt that was at least ten sizes too big for him. It hung down to his knees, and the collar was so wide that one of his shoulders peeked out. Keller was just finishing taking his pulse, and when she moved out of his way, Torren finally caught sight of his parents. The stuffed animal was forgotten at once, and he crawled on his knees as fast as he could to the edge of the bed, his arms outstretched.

"Dad!" He cried, and John scooped him up before he could crawl right off the edge and fall a second time. John carefully cradled his son's head in his one large hand, his nose buried in Torren's dark hair.

"Hey, buddy," he murmured. "You okay?"

"I fall," Torren exclaimed almost proudly. His pointer finger gingerly poked at the bandage on his head, and John couldn't help the smile that found its way to his lips. He turned to look at Teyla and found that she was likewise grinning at her son's enthusiasm.

"But you're all better now, right?" John asked, and the boy nodded.

"Auntie Jen fix me." Torren looked to his mom then, and stretched out his arms for her to take him. "Momma!"

Sighing, John handed him over, shrugging at the apologetic glance Teyla gave him. She knew it bothered him that Torren had been wanting to be with her more, especially lately. But she also knew that such attachment issues were temporary, and that very soon, Torren would be searching out his father as he had when he'd taken his first steps, toddling out of the comfort of her arms to John's waiting, outstretched hands. When he had finally reached John and had been scooped up and flown around the room like an airplane, her boy had giggled and screamed so happily that she had finally joined in, laughing so hard that her eyes blurred with tears.

Teyla was only too aware that in what seemed a blink of the eye, their son would be grown, and would most likely follow in his father's footsteps. She loved John, and was glad that he was the military man he was, but she was not sure that she could accept it if Torren wanted to pursue such a dangerous occupation. She knew that there was a good chance that he would not be stationed here, and the thought of him being galaxies away from her terrified her like nothing else. He could be killed while fighting some conflict in the Milky Way, and she would not hear of it until months afterward.

"Teyla?" She heard John calling her, and looked up at him, startled. "You okay?"

"Yes," she said after a moment. "I was...distracted."

"I could see that," he teased lightly, nudging her with his elbow. "I was tryin' to tell you that TJ wants ice cream."

Her gaze followed his to Torren's face, which lit up at the mention of the frozen treat, and when she looked back at John, she realized that his expression matched their son's perfectly.

"Does he?" She asked innocently, as she continued to gaze at her fiance. "Or is it you who really wants ice cream?"

He tried for the same innocent look, but failed under her scrutiny. Finally, he smiled and said, "Okay, so we both want some. Right, TJ?"

"Ice cream!" Torren yelled, bending his upper half toward the infirmary doors. "Ice cream!"

Feeling her patience quickly drain away, Teyla heaved him upright and looked into his eyes. "Torren, you must behave. I will only take you to the cafeteria to get some ice cream if you stay quiet. All right?"

Torren nodded silently, sufficiently chastened. When she was satisfied that he had understood her, Teyla craned her neck to peer around the room, looking for Jennifer. She found her near her office, having just ducked inside for a cup of coffee.

"Thank you so much for everything, Jennifer," Teyla said, and Keller gave her a nod.

"Just doin' my job. Did the colonel tell you what I told him?"

"That we should keep an eye on Torren to be sure he is truly all right?"

Keller nodded again. "And if he develops any pain later on, it's okay to give him a little medicine, especially before bed.

"Very well." Turning to look at John, Teyla said, "Now, let's go find some..." she paused as Torren's patient gaze found hers, a smile of anticipation curled on his lips. "...you know what."

John chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

As he led the way out of the infirmary, Torren suddenly squealed, "Ice cream!"

* * *

><p>It was night in the city of the Ancients.<p>

That was good, he decided. It meant that there was most likely only a skeleton crew ambling around the halls, performing their various tasks.

The door leading from the Underwater Jumper Bay slid open, and he slunk around the corner of the frame, pressing himself as close to the wall as he could. He stopped and listened for a moment, but the only sound that returned to him was his own breathing. Satisfied that no one was coming, that they had not been alerted to his presence, he continued on through the interior corridors toward his intended destination.

Finally, after a few close calls where he was almost spotted, he stood in front of a door. Hauling in another deep breath, he reached into his clothing and withdrew a weapon, then burst through the door. The woman within jumped and spun around, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the gun in his hand. She was nowhere near sure if it was a simple stunner, or something much worse, but she would rather not find out the hard way.

"What...what are you doing here?" She asked him, already taking a step backward, toward the headset she had just laid on the counter.

"I want the treatment that makes one able to fly a Jumper," he replied.

"The ATA?" She squeaked before clearing her throat. "Oh, well..."

He knew she was stalling, but he had no time for such games. "Doctor Keller," he warned, aiming the gun higher, toward her head, "you have been a good friend, and you take great care of the people within this city. I would hate it if you forced me to harm you."

Keller swallowed nervously, then nodded. "Okay. Just...stay calm, and I'll get it."

She turned around, her hand in the pocket where she kept the medical fridge key, but stopped again when he shouted, "No!"

"I will get it myself. Just hand me the key, and tell me which shelf it is on," he explained, and she nodded again. She pulled out the key and held it on her palm, and when he reached for it she closed her fingers around his hand.

"Please," she begged, though her voice had a hard edge to it, "don't do this."

Shaking off her hand, he stepped away without reply and unlocked the fridge door. Keller rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and drew in a shaky breath. She couldn't believe she had just done that; was she trying to get herself _killed_?

Careful to keep an eye – and his weapon – on her, he carefully searched the shelves, turning various test tubes around to read their labels. Finally, he found one marked "ATA therapy 112" and held it up.

"Is this the correct sample?" He asked her.

"Yes. But..."

Before she could say any more, he fired the weapon at her. Her body convulsed in a pulse of electrical energy, and she sank to the floor, unconscious. He bent down and checked her heartbeat, and was minutely glad that she would be fine in a while. He would rather have not even stunned her, but he could not have her sounding the alarm on him yet. Standing up again, he slid the vial into his pocket and made his way out of the infirmary.

He had other, more pressing matters to attend to.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	14. Chapter 14

_AN: Okay, folks. In this chapter, we get to find out who the mystery man is! Hold onto your seats, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I promise, it'll all make sense really soon! LOL_

_Enjoy as always, and please leave feedback!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 14

* * *

><p>The hallway was blessedly empty, but standing outside a certain door in the crew quarters section, his heart still thumped in his chest. He considered giving up on this fool's errand; he still had time to turn around and go back to where he came from, as Keller would likely not awaken for an hour, at least. But the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that he needed to do this, and quickly.<p>

Waving his hand in front of the door, he breathed a sigh of relief as it slid open immediately, and he slipped inside. On the bed, a woman's form lay under the covers, completely ensconsed in the comforter except for the very top of her head. The range of emotions he felt surge through him at the sight of her left him confused. He wanted to hurt her, and yet his heart fluttered as he thought of her smile, at the memory of the feel of her skin against his. He wanted to reach out and touch her again, but when he remembered the way she had treated him, he wished that he had never met her.

Quickly, before he could stop to rethink his plan again, he strode over to the bed and yanked her up by the arm. She screamed in panic, but when his weapon dug into her side, she stopped at once.

He looked at the creamy skin of the woman's face and cursed as he realized that he did not recognize this woman – she was not the one he was looking for – but rather than release her, he pulled her closer to his face, unable to suppress a sneer as her eyes widened further, and her skin paled in fear.

"Where is the woman whose room this was?" He rasped at her, and she shook her head in confusion.

"Teyla?" She asked, and he shook her once in frustration, causing her to squeak out a terrified yelp.

"Yes!" He barked, squeezing her arm harder. "Where is she?"

The woman swallowed thickly, caught between her desire for survival and her loyalty to Teyla. She was sure that this man meant to harm Teyla, but she also knew how strong the Athosian woman was, that she could take care of herself in a fight. Still, she didn't want to be the one to cause harm to Teyla, even indirectly. She was new to Atlantis, having just arrived a few months ago, but even so she had quickly befriended Teyla by taking her class on Bantos fighting. Already she felt a kind of kinship with the woman.

"Where is she?" He asked again.

Finally, she managed, "In the next tower. Up one level, then over. Third door from the end of the hall."

At last, he released her arm, and she scooted further away from him, gathering the covers up at her chest. He straightened up and lifted the weapon toward her heart, and panic took over in her eyes once more.

"Oh, please!" she begged. "Don't kill me!"

"You will not die," he promised as he pulled the trigger, stunning her as he had Keller.

Her last thought as she slipped into unconsciousness was that Teyla would forgive her, and that she would be okay.

* * *

><p>Only half-awake, John curled his arm around Teyla's body, pulling her closer to himself. His nose pressed against the back of her neck, breathing in her sweet scent, and in her sleep, Teyla's lips curved into a smile. Then, he heard a strange noise in their room, and his eyes snapped open, at once fully awake.<p>

There was someone else there.

Even in the pitch black, he could feel them there, standing at the end of the bed. Careful not to give himself away, John shifted slightly, tilting his head down so he could see their feet. Just enough moonlight filtered through the window for him to make out a solid form standing just where he'd thought. His heart immediately began to pound in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm as the intruder made their way around the side of the bed, toward Teyla.

John tried to remember where he'd left his sidearm, and recalled that it was in the drawer of the bedside table directly behind him. There was no way he was turning around to get it; reaching for his gun meant that he would have to take his eyes off the intruder, as well as leave Teyla in the open. No, he would have to think of something else.

He kept watching the stranger, trying to figure out who it was, and his breath hitched in his chest as fortune shown on him and the man bent down to stare at his fiancee's face.

_Kanaan._

Now that he knew who the intruder was, John felt anger rush through him, and he boldly sat up and said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Kanaan lifted the stunner and fired at John, but the colonel had been ready for such an action, and he rolled out of his side of the bed, muffling a curse as his still-sore leg jarred with the impact. He yanked the table drawer open and grabbed his sidearm, then hopped to his feet and leveled it at Kanaan, at the same time mentally giving Atlantis the order to turn on the lights.

As light flooded the room, Teyla bolted upright, her eyes wide as she took in the standoff happening before her.

"Kanaan?" She asked, somewhat confused as to why he was there.

Without taking his eyes off John, he nodded. "It is me, Teyla."

"What do you want?"

"Who cares what he wants," John growled, "he was sneaking around in here while we were sleeping."

"Where is Torren?" Kanaan asked, but John shook his head.

"You can't have 'im."

"Do not make this difficult, Colonel Sheppard," Kanaan said. "You have already stolen my love away from me. Do not think I will let you take my son so easily."

Now, Teyla slid out of bed and stood between the men, making John's heart rate rise more than a few notches. Facing Kanaan, she said, "He is not your son, Kanaan."

Confused, the man furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"We have discovered that Michael took John's DNA and combined it with mine, to make Torren. He was never yours, as we had thought." She took a step toward him, her hand out to touch his arm. "I am sorry."

As he took in her words, Kanaan shook his head. "No!" he shouted then, pulling away from her. As she stepped back to stand beside John, he continued, "No, you are lying, in the hope that I will not take him back. But it will not work."

Just then, Torren awoke. Feeling the tension, he began to cry from his crib in the next room. Kanaan turned toward the sound, and John took a step forward, cocking his gun as he moved.

"Don't do it, Kanaan," John warned. "He's my son. If you try to take him, I will kill you."

"I do not wish anyone harm," Kanaan gave his own warning, "but I must have Torren, and I will do what I must to get him."

John shook his head again. "I can't let you. I won't."

Kanaan sighed. "Very well. Then try to stop me."

The Athosian man turned around again, and John moved to fire his gun at him.

"John, don't!" Teyla shouted, pushing his arm up at the last moment and sending the bullet into the ceiling.

John had just enough time to glare at her before Kanaan rushed toward them and knocked them all to the ground. John's hand reflexively dropped the gun, and he heard it clatter somewhere under Teyla's dresser. _Great_, he thought as he kicked Kanaan off of him and stood up. _There's no way I'm gonna reach that in time._

Kanaan struggled to his feet and rushed once more toward Torren's room, but Teyla jumped on his back, a desperate cry torn from her throat. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as he tried to shake her off, and when he finally dumped her onto the bed, she reached up and punched his jaw. It hurt, but he remained upright.

"I had hoped to do this the easy way," he told her as he lifted the stunner and hit her with a single shot.

Spurred on by both the sight of her laying unconscious and Torren's hysterical cries, John brought his fist down on Kanaan's arm, knocking the stunner from his hand. As soon as it fell to the floor, he stomped down on it, hard. It shattered into pieces, and he took the opportunity to send an elbow into Kanaan's windpipe. The Athosian lost his breath for a moment, but recovered unusually quickly. Reaching down, he grabbed John's leg and pulled upward, knocking John onto his back. Though he had not been aware of John's injury, Kanaan grinned in satisfaction when the colonel instinctively reached down to cradle his thigh, then slammed his fist hard into John's face.

John blinked as darkness crowded into his vision, and he fought against the sensation. If he went down now, Kanaan would take his son. John was sure if that happened, he would never see Torren again, and that thought filled him with more fear than he had ever felt in his life – more so than the thought of being dropped alone in the middle of a Wraith hive ship, with no weapons.

Growling against the pain wracking through his leg, John rolled onto his hands and knees, then grabbed for Kanaan's leg, intending on bringing him down to the floor as well. Kanaan grasped John's left wrist and pushed it back, and John uttered a cry as they both heard a sickening snap. His grip failed, and he cradled his injured hand to his chest, but still he refused to relent. His other hand quickly snaked out and pinched the nerve in the back of Kanaan's knee, and the man instantly sank to his knees. John punched him again in the jaw, twice, and a half-grimace, half-smile twisted his lips as blood began to flow freely from Kanaan's mouth. Kanaan managed to slide out of his grasp, and slammed the heel of his palm against John's nose. John felt, rather than saw, the blood gush from his nose as more blows rained down on his face, bruising his cheekbone and splitting the skin of his cheek and lip open. John tried to stand, but his head swam so much that he started to get nauseous, and he sat back down hard.

All this time, Torren's cries had continued to echo around them, and John silently hoped that the noise would reach outside into the hallway, and that there would be someone there to hear. The pain in his wrist was becoming worse, and he could tell that his muscles were beginning to swell up. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help, and fast.

Kanaan gazed at the man before him. It was only a matter of time before John's strength gave out, but he knew John would fight every single moment until then. Perhaps it was true, then; perhaps John truly was Torren's father after all. The thought angered Kanaan greatly. First, Teyla had chosen to give John her heart instead of him, and must have decided then that Kanaan was only useful as a warm body for when John was not around. Then, Michael had chosen John as a more suitable specimen for his research, despite the fact that Kanaan, in his mutated form, had been a dedicated servant to Michael. Even John himself had mistreated Kanaan, always suspicious of his intentions and actions, even after he had been returned to his former self.

So many had betrayed him.

Kanaan smiled. _And now_, he thought, _it is time for me to exact my revenge._

Standing up, he watched as John's pain-filled gaze followed him. "I am sorry, John," he told the man seated at his feet, "but I did warn you."

John's breath hitched as he saw Kanaan head toward Torren's room. "Kanaan!" he cried. "Don't..." he dragged himself across the floor, smearing blood onto the carpet. Again he tried to stand, but he began to trip over himself even before he had gotten his feet under him.

Torren's cries became louder, and John realized then that Kanaan had returned to the main room, with John's son in his arms. Kanaan stopped to look down once more at John, and smiled thinly.

"Say goodbye, Torren," he said to the little boy, who only sobbed harder, his face so red that John worried he would stop breathing altogether.

Then, Kanaan gave a swift kick to John's gut, and he could no longer hold back the darkness.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	15. Chapter 15

_AN: Next Chapter is here! I was originally gonna have this move in a different direction, but as I've gotten a bunch of other stuff floating around in my head, if I don't write 'em down soon, I'll lose 'em forever...so I decided to be nice and start the long process of wrapping this whole adventure up. But fear NOT! There are many more stories of SGA (and Supernatural, and who knows what else) soon to follow! So stay tuned!_

_Enjoy, and as always, please review!_

_PS...thank you to all those who have reviewed already! I have 92 reviews on this story so far...it would take me forever to reply to all of those! LOL So instead, HUGE shoutouts go to **sherry57**, **Karisue**, **JoeyLuv**, **sheppardlover928**, **Sarahzilla**, **sagey**, **BMick**, **buns1974**, **tripwatcher2**, **lizlou57**, **wisconsinrocks**, **SyfyFan** and **diama56**...you guys make me feel so LOVED! I love you all bunches!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 15

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><p>At first, John thought he could still hear Torren wailing. His head pounding, he struggled back to consciousness, and was aware that someone was hovering above him. As he surfaced, he realized that the wailing he heard was not his son, but the city's alarms. <em>Good<em>, he thought; _that meant that someone had seen Kanaan running off with Torren, and had informed Woolsey._

Finally deciding to risk cracking his eyes open, John took in Teyla's worried face, and his heart ratcheted back up to pounding through his shirt.

"Where is he?" John asked as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His ribs ached so bad that he gasped each time he so much as flinched, but he needed to get moving.

"Major Lorne has sent multiple teams into the city to search for him," she replied, placing her hand against his back to steady him. "He will not get far."

Though he knew she was only trying to ease his worry, it fell miserably short. "Where'd..." he gasped again as his ribs protested his attempts to rise to his feet, and he gave up and sat back down. "Did he learn all that from Michael?"

Teyla shook her head. "I do not know, but from your injuries, I would say it was a safe guess."

John recalled that she had been stunned, and gazed into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a rueful grin and then nodded. "Yes. It took a while, but the sensation in my arms and legs has finally subsided. Though, with that alarm sounding, I fear it will be a while before my headache disappears, as well."

He moved to stand again, and he allowed her to help him up, agreeing to stand still while she ran into the bathroom for a washcloth to wipe the dried blood off his nose and chin. As she cleaned him up, she noticed how purple the skin around his eye was turning, and winced as she wondered how painful it felt.

The moment she stood back, indicating that she was finished, he sat down on the bed and got dressed. He managed to get his pants on, and slid his feet into his boots, intending on tying them once he was fully clothed. one arm into his uniform jacket, but when he tried to slide his other arm in, he gave a sharp cry and dropped his hand to his side. He had forgotten about his wrist until then, but it was not about to let him ignore it completely.

"Dammit," he rasped under his breath, as he slowed down and tried again. But once more his wrist sent a shock of pain all the way up his arm to his shoulder, and he was forced to hold it against his chest, his eyes squeezed shut until the pain eased.

Teyla patiently, wordlessly stepped forward then, and held his sleeve out at the perfect angle for him to slip his arm through without jostling his wrist. He moved to zip the jacket up, but she gently pushed his hand away, and zipped it for him, then knelt to tie his boots. When she had finished, she stood and turned away, but her name on his lips made her turn back again.

"Thanks," he said, the embarrassment of not being able to dress himself coloring his cheeks. Teyla smiled in return and brushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead.

"It is never any trouble to help you, John. It is all I have ever wanted to do." Her other hand appeared from behind her back, and another smile graced her face as his headset dangling from her fingers. "I figured you might want this, as well."

He smiled in return as his good hand slipped the headset into place, and then he leaned down and softly kissed her lips. "You're perfect, you know that?"

As she nodded, he opened a connection and called, "Ronon?"

Ronon's gruff voice reached him a second later. "I'm here. Teyla said you were hurt. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Where are you?"

"With Lorne's team, near the ZPM room."

"Rodney with you?" John asked, gesturing for Teyla to follow him and then heading for the door.

"No," Rodney's voice put in then. "But I've been monitoring radio contact from all the teams. Are you sure you're okay, John?"

John grinned at the worry in Rodney's voice. Leave it to McKay to show his compassionate side at a time like this. "I'm okay, I promise," he replied. Then, to Ronon, he said, "Get down to the submerged Jumper Bay. Teyla and I'll meet you there."

"Why there?"

"'Cause that's how I would've gotten into a place like this."

"Got it," Ronon acknowledged, then clicked off his end.

"Rodney, send two teams to the submerged Jumper Bay. But make sure they enter on the top levels, and stay out of sight until I give the word. Oh, and no one takes a shot unless I specifically order them to."

"Sure," McKay agreed. Then, he asked, "Is it really Kanaan who's doing this?"

"Yeah, Rodney. It is."

He switched off his com and stepped into the armory, with Teyla practically on his heels. She instantly moved to the rack of stunners and picked one up, but frowned deeply when John moved directly to the P-90s and then grabbed two clips, stuffing them into his jacket pockets.

"Do you not wish to put on a vest, John?" She asked as she slipped hers on, but he shook his head.

"Too heavy on my ribs. It'd just slow me down."

"But if Kanaan has a weapon..."

John spun to face her, his eyes stormy. "He has our son, Teyla! I'm not gonna give him a single minute longer to try and escape. I'd rather die than let him get away with Torren because I was busy strapping a vest on."

Teyla backed down, reluctantly, and fell silent as she finished buckling herself up. She had just finished when John began to move out, and she had to quickly grab her stunner and take a few large strides to catch up with him.

"Colonel Sheppard," Woolsey's voice burrowed into John's ear as they made their way down to the lower levels, and he grimaced, glad that Woolsey couldn't see his face.

"Mr. Woolsey."

"I just thought you should know that Dr. Keller was the first to raise the alarm. She stated that Kanaan demanded the ATA therapy from her."

"So he could pilot a Jumper."

Teyla's eyes grew wide at that, though she remained silent as John asked, "Is she okay?"

"She was hit by a stunner blast, but she's fine."

"Anyone else?"

"Yes," Woolsey said. "The woman who has Teyla's former quarters was also stunned when Kanaan entered looking for Teyla."

"Lieutenant Holly Sommers," John heard Rodney put in from somewhere close by to Woolsey.

"That's right. Thank you," the expedition leader replied. Then, to John, "Is there anything you require us to do up here?"

For once, John was pleasantly surprised at Woolsey's demeanor, and he nearly stopped dead in his tracks. "Um. Not really."

"I understand you are planning on cornering him in the underwater Jumper Bay."

John nodded, though Teyla was the only one to see it. "Yeah."

"Perhaps if we sealed off the exit..."

"No!" John shouted, then instantly sucked in a breath and amended, "Thank you, sir. But if you do that, he could become agitated and harm Torren in retaliation."

"What exactly does he want the boy for?" Woolsey asked.

"I don't know, and really, I don't care. He infiltrated my city – my home – and kidnapped my son. He slipped through security who knows how many times, crept around the halls without being seen..." John clenched his jaw and forced himself to calm down before he injured his other hand by punching a wall. "This can _never_ happen again."

Woolsey's tone was soft, almost soothing as he said, "You could not have seen this coming, Colonel. No one holds you responsible."

John knew that when Woolsey said "no one", he really meant himself, and to say that hearing him say it meant a lot, well, that was an understatement. Gratefully, John replied, "Thank you, sir. But I hold myself responsible."

They had finally reached the hallway just outside the lower Jumper Bay. Ronon, Lorne and Lorne's team were all there, silent as they waited for their superior's direction. Ronon had instantly noticed the way John held his weapon, keeping the majority of its weight on his right hand, as well as how he slightly hunched over, wincing with each breath. He caught John's eye and simply swept his gaze over John's body, stopping at his left wrist, and then nodded.

John nodded back. He liked that he could have silent conversations with the Satedan, and this one was no different. He knew exactly what Ronon had said in that single moment – that he knew that John was injured, and that even so John would continue to fight. But if anything happened and the fight became too much for John to handle, Ronon would be right behind him, picking up the slack.

"The other teams are all in position, as you requested," Lorne said, his voice low, and John nodded.

"Good. Now, I'm gonna go in first. Lorne can come next, then your team, and then Teyla and Ronon follow last."

"I wish to be with you, John," Teyla argued lightly, but he shook his head.

"I know. But it's safer for you to stay with Ronon. He'll be able to protect you if anything happens to me."

Her eyes darkened. "John, please..."

"No!" he rasped in a near-whisper. "Look, the only reason we've gotten lucky so far is because he's had to wait for the ATA therapy to kick in. But we have no idea of how long we were out, or when he first injected himself. So please, stop arguing with me, and let me get our son back!"

Again, she relented, and stood beside Ronon. John gave himself a five-count and then disappeared into the Jumper Bay, and Major Lorne followed a mere second later. As the other three men of Lorne's team filed into the room, Teyla shut her eyes and said a silent prayer that it was not too late to stop Kanaan.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: So, I know that some people aren't gonna like this chapter, because it seems a little OOC for John, but seriously, give it a chance. See, he's a hero, a born leader, but there are some times when you can't just go all guns-a-blazing. That would put Torren in danger, and he would never stand for that. So, anyway, yeah._

_Maybe now we can get back to the fluffy goodness of planning a wedding for John & Teyla, huh? LOL_

_Enjoy and review, as always!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 16

* * *

><p>Rodney shifted uncomfortably where he crouched, his handgun held up and pressed against his cheek as he watched the events down below. On either side of him, but one level down, sat the two teams of Marines he'd sent, also waiting. He could see them making various hand motions and tried to follow what they were saying to each other, but he was lost before too long. He had to remember to ask John to teach him the main signals again.<p>

No one had even seen him leave the control room, and he guessed by the fact that no one radioed him that either they still didn't miss him, or they knew where he was going and refused to stop him. Either way was fine with him. He'd made sure the city couldn't be blown up while he was gone, anyway, no matter how hard Zelenka tried to "help".

Once more, he dared to peer over the side of the balcony and gaze down at the floor of the Jumper Bay. He could see John sneaking around each Jumper, his messy hair poking up now and then as he checked to see if any were occupied. Lorne was on the other side of the room, almost subconsciously copying John's motions, as the rest of his men spread out through the room and set up a perimeter. Rodney had spotted Kanaan almost as soon as he'd ducked into this hiding spot, in a Jumper near the bay door. He had managed to quiet Torren down, and was now standing on the Jumper's ramp, holding Torren in the crook of one arm. The other hand was likewise occupied, but with a weapon instead of a toddler. _Though perhaps_, Rodney thought with a small grin, _a toddler was just as bad, especially when they started screaming._

Rodney's gaze shifted toward John again, and he realized that soon, he would be close to where Kanaan stood. His jaw clenched tightly, Rodney silently cheered on his friend. Messing with Torren was one thing – kids were innocent, and should be cared for and treated as such – but you beat up on Colonel John Sheppard, and there was Hell to pay, my friend. And on top of that, he had the nerve to burst into the infirmary and scare Jennifer half to death, and then stun her.

_Yeah_, Rodney thought angrily. _This guy had to go down._

John took a step toward the last Jumper, signalling for Lorne to stand back. Lorne nodded, though anyone who knew him could tell he didn't like it. But John was his commanding officer, and if he gave an order, Lorne would follow it.

"Kanaan!" John bellowed, his hazel eyes trained on the shadow he saw through the Jumper's front windshield. "Bring my son out here right _now_!"

The shadow moved, disappearing from the rear hatch to stand beside the Jumper. The weapon in his hand was not a stunner, John saw then. He must have taken a handgun from the armory sometime after he'd left John laying on the floor, bleeding and unconscious.

"You do not give up so easily," Kanaan replied, a small smile of respect on his lips. "That is well, for neither do I."

"If you'd just...put down the gun, and we'll show you proof that Torren is mine. No one else has to get hurt."

"I recall Michael telling me of how the Lanteans, and _you_, specifically, made up a life for him. How you faked certain documents to deceive him into thinking he was human, like us. How can I know that you tell the truth, that this 'proof' will not be faked as before?"

"Okay, yes, Kanaan!" John cried, wincing as it hurt his ribs to do so. "We messed up. We lied, and we got caught. I am completely willing to accept responsibility and admit that we were wrong. That _I_ was wrong. But you've had time enough with Torren to know that he's different than any Athosian you know."

Just then, the Jumper's lights turned on, and John's heart jumped into his throat. Kanaan noticed it as well, and he jumped back in surprise. Torren just clapped, smiling widely.

"See?" John asked. "He can do that because he has my Ancient gene."

The weapon Kanaan had trained on John now wavered, and for a moment John dared to hope that the man's good sense had returned. But in the next moment, the scowl was back on the Athosian's face, and he shook his head. "It is a trick," he said. "Michael was right. You will go to any lengths to keep what you have taken from others."

"It's not a trick," John argued, his mind reeling as he searched for some way to convince the man of the truth.

But Kanaan refused to listen. Already, he was backing up toward the rear of the Jumper, careful to keep his eyes on John. "I am leaving now."

"Can anyone get a clean shot?" Lorne radioed to his men then, and the resounding reply was an echoed "no."

Ronon's voice in John's ear said, "I can stun him from here."

"No," John replied. "TJ'll get hurt."

"So, what? We're just gonna let him fly off?"

"I said no." As Kanaan got closer to the hatch, John took a step forward, praying that the other man would not take it as a threat and shoot him. "Kanaan, please. We all know you're a good guy, and you just want what's best for Torren. Let's just go talk about this some more, okay?"

"I am sorry, Colonel Sheppard. But I have wasted enough time already."

Kanaan moved to step into the Jumper, but a shot rang out and he staggered forward. Blood blossomed on the front of his shirt, and he looked down at it in surprise. So did John, as his gun had not been fired.

"It was...not..." Kanaan said, his face already turning a sickly shade of pale. Before he could fall to the floor, taking Torren with him, John rushed forward and plucked his son from the man's arms. Only when Torren was safe in his arms did John look up, trying to ascertain who had fired the shot. He was not left wondering for too long; Rodney McKay was standing at the railing two stories above, his gun still aimed down at Kanaan's prone form. A grim look was plastered upon his face, his blue eyes piercing even from this distance.

When he saw John looking at him, Rodney relaxed his arms and nodded at the colonel. He had heard John's no-fire order loud and clear, but there was no way he was letting Kanaan leave the city with one of its inhabitants. If that meant he went against John's wishes, then so be it. John's anger he could deal with. After all, he was his best friend; they'd been angry with each other before, and had eventually apologized and gotten over it.

No, it was John's failure and subsequent sense of loss, that Rodney could not handle. And if Torren had been taken, that was just what Rodney knew they would face. Oh, the colonel would put on a brave face for a while, even try to smile as he had before, but soon the memories would be too much for him. He would become an empty shell, a fraction of the man he used to be. In Rodney's book, as long and wordy as it may be, that was unacceptable.

Rather than the frown he had been expecting, John looked up at him and nodded sedately, then turned and hugged his son to his chest, whispering something in the boy's ear. Torren giggled, finally bringing a smile to John's face, and then looked up and waved to Rodney, who smiled and waved back.

Rodney breathed in a happy sigh, and then turned to make his way down to the group.

* * *

><p>Teyla rushed over to John, still followed closely by Ronon. Her hands flew straight to her son's face, checking for any injuries even as she knew he was okay. Torren, for his part, pulled his head back and whined, and she finally understood that he really was unhurt. A small smile found its way to her lips, and she turned and hugged both John and Torren together.<p>

When she saw Rodney, however, she let go of them and wrapped him in her arms instead, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, Rodney," she breathed, and he blushed a dozen different shades of red.

"Well, I couldn't just let him get away with Torren. I'm just glad the little guy's okay."

As she released him, she glanced up into his face and grinned. "As am I."

Meanwhile, Major Lorne stepped up beside John, his blue eyes locked onto Kanaan's still form, which lay not ten feet away.

"Sorry it had to end this way, sir," he said, "I tried to get one of my men into position for a non-lethal shot, but..."

John waved his hand. "That's okay, Major. I'm just glad it's over."

They stood there together, silent, and then Lorne said, "Permission to speak frankly, sir?"

"Evan, you should know by now that you always have permission. Go ahead."

Lorne nodded. "Yes, sir. Sorry. Anyway, now that it is all over, don't you think you should get yourself checked out?"

"Nah," John replied, though his hand was starting to throb pretty badly. "I think Keller's had enough tonight."

"Excuse me, sir, but you don't exactly look well..."

"Pretty sure a good night's sleep will work wonders for me, Major." There was a pause, and then his voice lost the edge it had a moment before. "But thanks for your concern."

Lorne looked up and noticed that his superior's eyes were again fixed on Kanaan. Torren was nuzzled against his father's neck, his dark eyes blinking slowly, his little body obviously exhausted. "No problem, sir," he finally said. He shot a glance over at his own second-in-command, whose gaze flicked to the colonel and then back at Lorne. At his slight nod, Evan turned to John and smiled. "Looks like we've got everything under control here. Why don't you take your family home, and we'll finish up?"

John had been about to shake his head and insist that he would stay until the end, but the fatigue he'd been fighting gained momentary control, sapping the strength from his limbs and simultaneously giving him a headache. Slowly, in order to keep his eyes from sloshing around in his head, he nodded and said, "Sounds like a good idea. Call me if you need anything."

"I will, sir," Lorne said, mentally crossing his fingers. He hated telling even that tiny lie, but he could see the colonel was pretty much dead on his feet. If he thought he was needed, he would put resting at the bottom of his list, and Lorne didn't need the guilt of having his superior pass out on his watch.

Or worse.

With a last look at the body on the floor, which had now been covered by a sheet, John walked away and found Teyla standing with Rodney and Ronon. Her lithe body was purposely stood with her back to where Kanaan lay, John noticed, and smiled as he caught the symbolism in her stance. In life, Kanaan had turned his back on her when he left; now, Teyla was showing that his actions had caused her to turn her back on him; kinsman or not, he had lost her respect for good.

"Hey," John said as he shifted Torren's weight. The little boy had fallen asleep on him, his warm breath drifting across the back of John's neck.

"Hey," Ronon replied.

"Sorry if I was short with you back there. I just...I mean..."

"It's cool," Ronon said, a small grin twitching his lips. "I get it."

"Okay. Good," John breathed, relieved. Then, his gaze found Rodney's.

"Listen," Rodney began, before John could say a word, "I know you said not to shoot unless you said so, but he was gonna get away, and I couldn't live with myself if I let..."

John stunned everyone by pulling Rodney into a hug – a manly hug, but a hug nevertheless. "Thank you, Rodney," John said as he drew back again. "If it wasn't for you, I would've never seen my TJ again."

Rodney just nodded, rendered speechless by John's completely out-of-character show of emotion, and even Teyla couldn't think of a thing to say. She had never seen him display his gratitude in such a way, and wondered to herself if she ever would again. In fact, she had been expecting him to be angry with Rodney; after all, the scientist had put Torren in harm's way, even after John's warning.

Of all people who could fire a gun, she would have put Rodney last on the list to do such a dangerous thing. He was usually the sort to hide far away from gunfire, to shy away from harming someone else. But she had seen him standing up there behind the railing, the sneer of disgust on his face traveling all the way to his eyes as the smoke from his gun barrel drifted up toward the ceiling. She was not sure what change had occurred in him, what train of thought had brought him to that balcony, but the fact that there was one frightened her. She rather liked the timid version of McKay, the one who gave her shy smiles and awkwardly patted her hand after one of their quiet talks.

"Well," the subject of her thoughts said at length, "I'd better get up to the lab, see what needs to be done before I hit the sack."

John nodded and stifled a yawn, drawing a frown of concern from Teyla. "Think I'm gonna head in that direction, too."

"Night," Ronon said with a wave, and John waved back as Teyla practically dragged him out of the room.

When they were safely back in their quarters, with Torren sleeping soundly in his bed just as if nothing had happened, Teyla gently pushed down on John's shoulders until he was sitting on their bed. Deft, tanned fingers unzipped his jacket, then pulled it off him one arm at a time. She lifted his t-shirt off next, taking it by the hem and carefully sliding up and over his head and arms. Her breath sucked in as she spied the large bruise over his ribs, where Kanaan had kicked him. It was an ugly shade of purple – almost black – and covered a good third of the front of his torso. Blinking back the tears she felt springing to her eyes, she lightly ran her fingers over the other side of his chest, trying without words to tell him how sorry she was.

John had been watching her face studiously, but his eyebrows dipped down toward his nose when he saw her fighting not to cry.

Catching her fingers in his, he murmured, "Hey, it's okay."

She shook her head furiously. "I never thought that he would do something like this."

"I know that," he assured her. "Neither did I."

Looking up, she saw his black eye, and the tears suddenly burst forth. John pulled her in against him, sighing into her hair. "You're acting like I'm half dead, here," He chuckled.

"I can't help it," she said, her breath tickling his chest. "I do not like seeing you in such pain."

John smiled into the semi-darkness of their room. "I know. But now that everything's done and over, you can kiss me all better."

At this, she sat up and cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him. "John, you can not be serious. You most likely have a broken wrist, a black eye, bruised ribs...you should be in the infirmary right now. I cannot believe you even convinced me to bring you here, instead."

He lifted an eyebrow of his own, dark and thick and perfectly arched. "You did it because you know how much I hate it in there. And because you love me."

She stared at him for another long moment, then gave him her lopsided grin. "You are correct about that. I do love you."

He grinned, victorious, and then leaned forward to press his lips against hers. "And I love you, too," he said when he finally broke away.

After another kiss, one which nearly roused the spark he felt into a full-blown blazing, she helped him get situated in bed and then turned out the lights.

He was asleep a few seconds later.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	17. Chapter 17

_AN: So, here it is! The WEDDING! YAY! Actually, I split it up into two chapters, because it was getting pretty long, so this is the first part. If anyone is interested in seeing pics of the outfits and flowers and such, I can paste up a link to my photobucket page for ya! _

_This is probably one of the best chapters I've written so far, but that might be because I've been to - and IN - a thousand weddings, and have aspirations to be a wedding planner. I ADORE weddings in general, so throw my fav couple in with that, and I'm just gone! LOL_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 17

* * *

><p>Almost overnight, the mess hall had been transformed into a beautiful indoor garden, lush with so many flowers that their perfume filled the entire room. The front side of the room – the end closest to the ocean – had been set up with row upon row of chairs in two sections, split down the middle by an aisle that had been covered with a linen runner in a light cream color. At the end of the center aisle was a huge arbor hung with white hydrangeas and dark, heart-shaped ivy leaves. Filmy white chiffon draped across the ceiling, the ends hanging down like curtains on either side of the arbor and at the four corners of each section of chairs. White pillar candles had been set at the far end of each aisle, and more were placed in small groupings in the space between the chairs and the arbor.<p>

The doors to the balcony had been flung open wide, allowing the soft ocean breeze to slip inside and cool the room. The candles flickered, but none went out, as they had been fashioned with a deep well in the center to keep the flame protected. The sun filtered into the hall in wide swaths of light, the few clouds that drifted across the sky unable to hide them for more than a few moments.

Ronon peered out into the room from a side door and then pulled his head back into the hall. "Lotta people in there," he commented to the group of men standing nearby. Rodney wrung his hands nervously, already sweating even though the city's temperature was set at a comfortable level.

"Great. Thanks for adding pressure, big guy." He scowled, but Ronon just grinned in return. "I hope I don't mess up."

"You'll be fine," Major Lorne replied calmly. He turned to Ronon and asked, "My tie on straight?"

The Satedan nodded. "Yup."

The clicking of heels against the marble floor startled them, and they glanced over to see Jennifer Keller standing in front of them. She was dressed in a tea-length robin's-egg blue dress, one that was held up by slim spaghetti straps. Her waist was encircled by a matching grosgrain ribbon, making her look even thinner than the size six she was. Her strappy shoes were almost the same color as her dress, her gold-painted toenails peeping through their open toes. Her strawberry-blond hair had been piled up on top of her head, held in place by white crystal-studded bobby-pins, and her eyelids had been swept with alternating shades of aqua and gold. She looked..._well_, Rodney gulped as he blinked and stared at her anew, _she looks gorgeous_.

"Where's the colonel?" she asked, craning her head around the group to see if she could spot him herself.

"I'm here," a voice said from her left, as John stepped out of the room they had been using as a dressing room.

"Wow," Jen breathed, her glossy lips gaping and her eyes wide. "You look incredible. Teyla's gonna love it."

"You think so?" He asked, as Lorne reached up and straightened his collar for him. The tuxedo he wore was a traditional black, 3-button suit, with a champagne colored vest and a burnished-gold striped ascot-style tie. A cream-hued orchid was pinned to his lapel, its three petals looking almost like an albino shamrock. His hair was still as messy as ever, but the strands were shiny, and she smiled as she realized where her hairspray had gone to.

Each of his attendants matched him, though their ties were the usual knotted kind, and their orchids were accompanied by a small blue ribbon that were the same shade as Keller's dress.

"I know so," Keller said, dabbing at a tiny tear in the corner of her eye. Pulling out a handkerchief, she stepped over to Rodney and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. "And _you_ need to calm down," she told him. "You'll be fine. Everything will be fine."

"Okay," he said, trying to be hopeful.

Moving on to Ronon, she rearranged the band holding his dreads back from his face, then re-rearranged it. When she was happy, she gave Lorne a once-over and nodded approvingly.

"Well," she said, stepping back to take the group in all at once, "you all look absolutely wonderful."

"How's Teyla?" John asked her, and she smiled.

"We have to keep making her laugh so she doesn't tear up and ruin what little makeup she let us put on her, but she's okay. In fact," Keller looked down at her watch and gave a little stomp of her foot, and Rodney finally managed a grin at that. "I've gotta get back and help Teyla get dressed."

"Bye, Doc," John called as she spun and clicked her way back down the hall. "And thanks!"

Her reply was a wave of her hand, and then she turned the corner and disappeared.

"You ready?" Ronon, who was indeed John's best man, asked.

John nodded. In truth, he carried his own handkerchief in his pocket, and had already used it twice. He was excited, but so were the butterflies in his stomach; it seemed like years ago that he'd asked Teyla to marry him, but even now he could barely comprehend that she had said yes. _There was still time for her to back out_, the pessimistic side of him whispered. He mentally shook his head. _No_, he argued, _she loves me. She wants this just as much as I do._

"Hey, where's Torren?" Rodney asked then, and John smiled.

"With Teyla. She thought it'd be better if she got him dressed. 'Sides," he added, popping what felt like the thirtieth mint in his mouth. "he's gonna be walkin' in front of her, anyway."

Ronon opened the door and peeked in again, then turned to look at John. "Woolsey's in there. Looks like it's time to go."

John took a deep breath, double-checked that Ronon indeed had the rings safe in his pocket, and then led the way into the mess-hall-turned-wedding-venue. As he took his place at the front, on the right side of the arbor, and gazed at the doors his bride would enter through, the only thought repeating through his mind was, _This is it. Forever._

* * *

><p>Teyla stood still, looking at each face around her as Jennifer zipped up the back of her champagne satin dress. Amelia Banks, Ronon's secret crush, stood nearby, though she had yet to put on her shoes. She did not want to have sore feet before the reception, and Teyla sympathized, as her own heels were just starting to become uncomfortable. She had been practicing walking in the strange footwear for the better part of a month, and with the ladies' help she had finally gotten the hang of it. She just hoped that today, she would not stumble as she walked down to meet John under the arbor.<p>

Amelia's makeup looked just as stunning as Jennifer's, very exotic yet not gaudy, and when she bent her head to admire the bouquet in her hand, a camera flash suddenly lit up the room. The camera's owner stepped forward and smiled shyly.

"Sorry, but you just looked so beautiful, Amelia," she said, and Amelia grinned. "I think that will look great in black-and-white."

"That's okay, Jeannie," Amelia replied. "And I think black-and-white would look amazing. Could I have a copy of it?"

Rodney's sister nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! I'll send a link to the online album I'm going to make to Teyla, and you can all choose which photos you want from there."

"Did you see John out there?" Teyla asked Jennifer then, as she smoothed the embroidered bodice of her dress.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, and he looks so handsome! They all do, actually."

Just then, the ringbearer and flowergirl ran through the room, but they were both caught by their respective mothers before either of them could trip over the bridesmaids, or themselves, for that matter.

Teyla hooked her arm around Torren and pulled him close to her.

"Torren," she scolded lightly, "are you supposed to be running?"

Torren shook his curly head and pulled on his tuxedo jacket. "No, Momma."

"Very good. Now, sit down over there." She pointed at a love-seat style couch across the room. "It is almost time to start."

Torren followed her directions perfectly, walking carefully over to the couch and climbing up on it. He found his ring pillow nearby, and set it on his lap, folding his hands on top of it.

Meanwhile, Jeannie had caught her daughter by the shoulders, and now crouched down to look into Madison's blue eyes.

"Madison Miller," she said, "you know better than to run. Where is your flower basket?"

Maddie looked around the room, her golden curls bouncing as she moved. "On the table," she finally said, pointing at the table the women had used to set their various cosmetics upon.

Jeannie took the opportunity to brush a piece of lint off the front of Maddie's light-gold, satin dress, then straightened one of the straps that crossed her shoulders. Maddie made a face. "Mom!" She whined, trying to pull away from Jeannie so that she could go back to playing with Torren.

Jeannie pulled the same face, but held her daughter fast in her grip. "Hold still, Madison."

When she was finished, she stood up and grabbed the flower basket from the table and handed it to her, then pointed wordlessly to the couch. Madison walked over and sat down, just as silently, and copied Torren's posture. Her basket balanced on her lap, hands folded, she looked at her mother and gave an angelic smile. Jeannie snapped a picture of the two youngsters, then stepped over to a side-table and picked up her bouquet, her eyes sparkling as she took in its beauty.

"Teyla, I still can't believe that this 'flower' is really feathers!" she exclaimed, her fingers gently brushing at the white mock-dahlia that was the centerpiece of the bouquet. The four peacock feathers behind it complemented it perfectly, their delicate fringe and aqua "eyes" showing through just enough to give interest, without making the whole piece look dark and heavy.

Teyla nodded, then gave Jennifer an apologetic look as the younger woman tried to place the tiara on top of Teyla's head. "Yes," she said. "Katie Brown actually made them. Aren't they beautiful?"

"They are," Amelia agreed, then picked up Teyla's bouquet and sniffed it. "And yours is gorgeous, too."

Teyla grinned and held out her hand for her flowers, and Amelia carefully handed it to her. "Thank you. This was one of John's gifts to me. The cream roses represent his vow of faithfulness, and their number represent our loved ones who have passed on before us."

"What about the feathers?" Jeannie asked, nodding toward the aqua-dyed ostrich feathers that stuck out between the roses, and Teyla's smile widened.

"I am not sure. I would say that they are to remind me that our love can rise above any obstacle, just as a bird flies. And," she added, chuckling, "to represent his pilot's heart."

The women all laughed, and then Laura Cadman swiftly entered the room, her linen-colored halter dress swirling around her ankles. Her red hair had been gently curled and left to hang around her shoulders, and a light sweep of foundation had subdued her freckles without completely covering them.

"Oh, my gosh!" she cried as she took in everyone's appearance. "You all look so amazing!"

"Thank you, Laura," Teyla replied with a bow of her head.

Laura nodded back, then said, "I just came in to tell you that they're about to start, so you might wanna line up."

"Oh!" Jeannie exclaimed then, and stepped forward with her camera held out. "Could you take a picture of all of us?"

"Sure!" Cadman agreed, then waited for everyone to collect their bouquets and such. When they were all situated, she snapped a trio of shots and was about to hand the camera back when an idea hit her. "Hey, would you like me to take more photos during the ceremony? I could get you all coming down the aisle, stuff like that?"

Jeannie nodded happily. "Would you? That would be so wonderful!"

"It's no problem!"

Suddenly, they heard the music start, and as Laura ducked out to get into position, the bride's party prepared to make their entrance. Jennifer was first, followed by Amelia and then Jeannie, each of them clasping their handmade bouquets in their hands and holding them at the front of their waist.

Teyla stood last, behind her son and Madison. As they waited nearly silently for their turn to walk down the aisle, Madison helped Torren link his arm with hers, and Teyla had to quickly look away before she started crying at the sight. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. She was ready for this, she knew, but it did not mean she was not nervous. So many worries assaulted her – would she fall, or even worse, pass out? Would Rodney pass out? Did Ronon have the rings?

Then, she felt a tug on her dress, and looked down to see Torren staring back up at her.

"Momma pretty!" he whispered loudly, and she pursed her lips to keep from bursting out laughing.

"Thank you," she whispered back, just as the song she had chosen to walk down to began playing. Everyone in the room quickly rose to their feet, their heads turned to watch, and she gave Torren and Madison a gentle nudge. She watched them begin down the aisle, Torren grinning madly as Madison carefully sprinkled her flowers on the path, and with a prayer to the Ancestors that her family was looking down on them, Teyla took the first step into her future.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	18. Chapter 18

_AN: So this is it! The FINAL CHAPTER! It's been such a ride, I can't even tell you...WOW! _

_Well, all I can say is that I love you all, and I've had SO much fun with this story. I hope you have all enjoyed it just as much as I have! Stay tuned - there are more SGA adventures to be had very soon!_

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><p>LEGOs and Love<p>

by scarlet79

Chapter 18

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><p>Woolsey was in place at the head of the room, directly under the arbor, and the men were all lined up at his left side, each of them fidgeting nervously. Well, except for Ronon. He was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes the only part of him that moved. The chairs before them were all filled, their occupants dressed in their very best, each woman's hair and makeup done and each man looking as handsome as possible. Woolsey himself was dressed in a very sharp suit, his lapel decorated with an orchid similar to the groomsmen, and he had to admit that he felt quite good. He did not often get the chance to dress up, much less officiate a wedding, and he had a feeling that the others in the IOA would feel a distinct pang of jealousy when he bragged about this later.<p>

A moment after the processional music began, the doors to the bridal suite were flung open, and Teyla's attendants began to file out, slowly pacing down the aisle until they were standing opposite from the men. Their dresses caught everyone's attention, garnering gasps of awe from all over the room. The ladies all smiled brightly as they walked, and Jennifer sent a wink at Rodney, then mouthed "Calm down" at him. He nodded, and she resumed smiling.

Finally, the bride's song came on, and everyone stood. John had seen how beautiful the three women were, and could barely wait to see how Teyla looked. She had been adamant about not letting him see her dress, not even while it was on the hanger, and so he had no idea what it looked like. The room was so full of people that when they stood, they completely blocked his view of the bridal suite, so he had to be content with waiting for her to turn the corner and step into the middle aisle.

He spotted Torren first, however, and a surge of pride welled up in him. His son was walking calmly down the aisle with Madison's arm linked through his, the ring pillow balanced carefully on his palms. A huge smile was plastered on the boy's face, and John immediately worried that he would come running toward him. But when Torren saw his dad standing there, he did as he had been instructed and merely nodded once at John.

"You okay?" Ronon asked quietly when he noticed the strange look on John's face.

John heaved in a sigh and nodded. "Just proud of TJ."

Ronon nodded back. "He's doin' great."

A moment later, Teyla appeared at the end of the aisle, and John almost forgot to breathe. Her dress fit her perfectly, the champagne color of it standing out against her tanned skin. The bronze beadwork across her chest matched that near the bottom of the dress and on the chapel-length train, and its spaghetti straps gently whispered over her shoulders, holding it in place. Her dark hair had been piled up behind her tiara, which had accents of the same bronze color as the beading of her dress, and a crystal-studded necklace adorned her neck, ending in a teardrop pendant under her throat. Her eyelids were dusted with gold and copper, and her lips were the perfect shade of petal-pink. She reminded him of a queen from a story book, the gentle, loving one who took great care of everyone in her realm. The dress was an Earth-style, but its accents – along with her makeup – fit perfectly with her Athosian culture.

Just before she reached the arbor, a man stepped out into the aisle to meet her, and her smile became even wider.

"Halling," she acknowledged with a nod. "You look wonderful."

Halling bowed his head in thanks, and held his arm out for her. She slipped her arm through his, and they continued on down the aisle. When they finally stopped just before the arbor, Woolsey cleared his throat and asked, "Who gives this woman away?"

Halling's voice, loud and clear and just as wonderfully deep as always, replied, "All of New Athos and Atlantis is proud to do so."

With that, he turned and gently kissed her cheek, then joined her hand with John's and gave him a nod. John nodded back and said, "Thank you, Halling."

"I know you will take care of her," the taller man remarked, tears evident in his eyes. "You are an honorable man, John Sheppard."

Halling stepped back and then disappeared into the crowd, who were all seated once again. Teyla turned to face her groom, her brown eyes bright with unshed tears, and Jennifer quickly relieved her of her bouquet so she could join both hands with John's.

Woolsey took a moment to collect his thoughts, and then began, "You all know why we are here today – to share in the joining ceremony of John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagen. These two have come forward and proclaimed their love and fidelity to one another, and we have been invited to witness this glad moment in their life. As leader of this expedition, I can honestly say that I am honored to perform the duties of officiant at this ceremony, and I thank you all for being here to show your love and support of this new family."

"First," Woolsey continued, "the bride has asked to lead us all in an Athosian prayer."

He nodded to Teyla, and she smiled and then lightly closed her eyes. Most of the congregation followed in suit, and she took a steadying breath before speaking the prayer in her native tongue. When she was finished, she opened her eyes and stared at John, who nodded approvingly at her before gazing toward Woolsey.

"At this time," Woolsey informed the crowd, "the couple will light the unity candle. There are two candles on the sides, which represent their separate lives, and which they will use to light the center candle. When it is lit, it stands as a symbol of them coming together to make a single life, made complete in each other. Then, they will blow out the two separate candles, indicating that they are hereby leaving their separate lives behind, forever. As they do this, we will hear a piece for the piano, played by our own Dr. Rodney McKay."

As Teyla and John stepped forward toward the candle table, Rodney quickly made his way over to the piano and sat down. After a breath to calm himself, he positioned his fingers over the piano's keys and then began to softly play his song. And it _was_ his own song, composed by him one night when he couldn't sleep. A moment passed, and as the notes began to drift around him, his nervousness slowly melted away. He closed his eyes and felt the music run through him just as it had years ago, soft and sweet and rolling like mist on a rainy morning. He couldn't remember why he had quit doing this anymore. It felt so natural, so _him_, to be able to coax the music through the instrument before him, just as he was able to draw out the solution to a physics problem. The analytical side of him knew that music was merely sound, which in turn was only waves that only became so when a person's brain interpreted them correctly. But his romantic side, the side of him that he hid away from everyone, told him that there was much more to it. Music was emotion, pouring through him into the room. Music was the sound of his soul.

Perhaps, just perhaps, music was his very spirit, reaching out to touch everyone else's.

Before he knew it, he had come to the end of the song, and he opened his eyes to thunderous applause. Sliding off the bench and turning to face the room, he saw John and Teyla smiling happily at him, both of them also clapping wildly. Rodney forced himself to be graceful as he rejoined the men standing at the front, his face blushing now not with embarrassment and anxiety, but with pride. Never had he felt this good, not even when he had single-handedly rescued Atlantis from certain death.

Woolsey had to admit that he was surprised. He had no idea that Rodney could play the piano at all, much less play so well. Once the applause had died down, he looked out at the congregation and said, "I will now begin the final part of the joining ceremony, and then after that the couple will exchange rings."

As Jennifer and Ronon both stepped forward, Jennifer holding a length of thin twine, Woolsey reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper, then unfolded it and cleared his throat. "John Sheppard, son of Patrick and Maggie Sheppard, will you have this woman to be joined to you, for all the days of your life?"

"I will," John replied, his hazel eyes serious. He held out his right hand, and Ronon loosely tied one end of the rope around his wrist.

"Then so it shall be, for all your days," Woolsey read. Then, turning to Teyla, he said, "Teyla Emmagen, daughter of Torren and Tagan, will you have this man to be joined to you, for all the days of your life?"

"I will," Teyla promised, a small smile lighting her features.

As Jennifer tied the other end of the rope around Teyla's wrist, Woolsey repeated, "Then so it shall be, for all your days."

John turned to Ronon, who reached into his pocket and retrieved the rings. Handing them to John, he gave a huge grin, then stepped back. John handed the band he would wear to Teyla, and she held it ready as Woolsey spoke again.

"I give you this ring," he said, and she repeated his words exactly, "as a token of my faithfulness to you."

She slipped the ring onto his finger, and then he repeated the same promise as he gently pushed up her wedding band to rest in front of her engagement ring.

Finally, Woolsey smiled and spoke the magic words.

"You are now joined. Colonel, you may kiss your wife."

John reached for her at once, his hands sliding on either side of her face as he pressed his lips against hers. His eyes closed, he kissed her as the whole hall erupted in loud cheers and whistles, but all he heard was his own breathing. Time slowed to a near stop, and he found himself wishing he could make it stay this way forever. Her lips tasted candy-sweet, and they were so soft; her skin under his fingers felt like the finest velvet.

Only when he pulled away again did he hear the great commotion their kiss had caused, and when he looked down at her she was smiling so wide he thought her face would crack.

"I love you," he told her above all the shouting.

Teyla blinked back her tears and pressed her forehead to his. When she drew back, she replied, "And I love you."

THE END


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